Highlights
Highlights
Step into the Duomo and lift your gaze to the dome: Correggio's "Assumption of the Virgin" will sweep you away with its swirl of angels and clouds that seem to break through the sky in a crescendo of divine light.
Then pause before Antelami's "Deposition from the Cross": the 14 figures sculpted in marble are so real and moving that one seems to be witnessing the scene.
Finally descend into the crypt and walk on Roman mosaics 1700 years old: the sacred history of Parma comes alive beneath your feet.
A thousand years of sacred history
Construction of the Cathedral of Parma began in 1059 under the impulse of Bishop Cadalo (later antipope Honorius II) and was consecrated in 1106, although completion and embellishment work continued throughout the 12th century.
The church was built on the remains of earlier early-Christian and Roman sacred buildings, as evidenced by the mosaics in the crypt.
The exterior architecture is a magnificent example of the Po Valley Romanesque, with the characteristic gabled facade divided into three orders of superimposed loggias that lighten the wall mass.
The masterpieces: Correggio and Antelami
Between 1526 and 1530 Antonio Allegri, known as Correggio, frescoed the octagonal dome with the "Assumption of the Virgin", one of the most revolutionary works of the Renaissance.
Mary ascends to heaven surrounded by a whirlwind of angels, apostles and clouds that create an effect of ascending vertigo. The bottom-up perspective is so audacious that contemporaries were astonished and disoriented.
The crypt, the chapels and the frescoes
The underground crypt with three naves preserves splendid Roman mosaics from the 3rd-4th centuries that came from earlier buildings and were reused by the medieval builders.
The cross vaults rest on columns with finely carved Romanesque capitals. The central nave was frescoed between 1567 and 1573 by Lattanzio Gambara with scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin.
The Valeri and Comune Chapels (14th century) preserve original 14th-century frescoes.
The Romanesque Duomo guarding two absolute masterpieces: Correggio's dome and Antelami's relief
The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, commonly called the Duomo of Parma, is one of the most important examples of Po Valley Romanesque architecture in Italy. Begun in 1059 and consecrated in 1106, it features a magnificent gabled facade with three superimposed orders of loggias and a 63-metre Gothic bell tower crowned by the Golden Angel. Inside it guards two absolute masterpieces of Italian art: the dome frescoed by Correggio between 1526 and 1530 with the Assumption of the Virgin, considered one of the peaks of the Italian Renaissance for its daring perspective and emotional intensity, and the Deposition from the Cross by Benedetto Antelami (1178), a masterpiece of European Romanesque sculpture. The underground crypt preserves extraordinary Roman mosaics from the 3rd-4th centuries reused by medieval builders, testifying to the continuity of this sacred place across the millennia. The Duomo is open every day with free entry and is the spiritual and artistic heart of Parma.
Related experiences
A thousand years of sacred history
Construction of the Cathedral of Parma began in 1059 under Bishop Cadalo (later antipope Honorius II) and the building was consecrated in 1106, although completion and embellishment continued throughout the 12th century. The church was built upon the remains of earlier Early Christian and Roman sacred buildings, as the mosaics in the crypt bear witness. The exterior is a magnificent example of Po Valley Romanesque, with its characteristic gabled facade divided into three superimposed orders of loggias that lighten the masonry. The 63-metre Gothic bell tower was completed in the 13th century and until 1987 was crowned by the Golden Angel, a gilded weather-vane statue now preserved in the Diocesan Museum to protect it from the elements.
The masterpieces: Correggio and Antelami
Between 1526 and 1530 Antonio Allegri, known as Correggio, frescoed the octagonal dome with the Assumption of the Virgin, one of the most revolutionary works of the Renaissance. Mary rises to heaven surrounded by a whirlwind of angels, apostles and clouds creating an effect of soaring vertigo. The bottom-up perspective is so audacious that contemporaries were astonished and disoriented. In the right transept stands the Deposition from the Cross (1178) by Benedetto Antelami, a marble bas-relief considered a masterpiece of European Romanesque sculpture. The fourteen figures attending the deposition of Christ are carved with extraordinary realism and emotional pathos. Antelami signed and dated the work, a rare example of medieval authorial pride.
The crypt, the chapels and the frescoes
The three-aisled underground crypt preserves splendid Roman mosaics from the 3rd-4th centuries reused by medieval builders from earlier buildings. The cross vaults rest on columns with finely decorated Romanesque capitals. The central nave was frescoed between 1567 and 1573 by Lattanzio Gambara with scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin. The Valeri and Comune chapels (14th century) preserve original Trecento frescoes. The adjacent octagonal baptistery, also a work by Antelami, completes the monumental ensemble of Piazza Duomo.