Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Et Tu, Dante?
Exiled from his native Florence on trumped-up political charges, the poet
Dante Alighieri ended up making Ravenna his home. It is here that he fin-
ished his epic
Divine Comedy,
of which the famed
Inferno
is but the first
third. It is here that he died in 1321. And—despite efforts by the
Florentines to reclaim their famous son—it is here that he resides for eter-
nity, in an elaborate
tomb
behind the Basilica di San Francesco. The
tomb's inscription reads:
HERE IN THIS CORNER LIES DANTE
,
EXILED FROM HIS NATIVE
LAND
,
BORN TO FLORENCE
,
AN UNLOVING MOTHER
. The adjoining
Museo Dantesco
(Via Dante Alighieri, 4;
%
0544-30252; www.centrodantesco.it;
€
2; daily
9am-noon, Apr-Sept also 3-6pm)
contains a small collection of Dante
memorabilia.
extend far beyond the gastronomic. The Farnese, who made their duchy one of the
art centers of the Renaissance, were succeeded by Marie-Louise, a Hapsburg and
the wife of Emperor Napoleon. Her interest in everything cultural ensured that
Parma never languished as a once-glorious backwater, as was the case with nearby
Ferrara and Ravenna. As a result, today's residents of Parma live in one of Italy's
most prosperous cities and are surrounded by palaces, churches, and artwork.
Parma is also a city of music, a favorite of Verdi's and the hometown of the
great 20th-century conductor Arturo Toscanini. If you're here for the late October
through mid-April season, be sure to catch a concert at the glorious
Teatro Regio
(Via Garibaldi, 16A;
%
0521-039399; www.teatroregioparma.org; from
€
20 for
decent seats,
€
5 for nosebleeds).
Lay of the Land
Parma is 95km (59 miles) northwest of Bologna and 122km (76 miles) southeast
of Milan. Because it lies on the busy north-south rail lines, connections are excel-
lent. There are two to four
trains
per hour to and from Bologna (50-77 min.),
many of which continue all the way to Milan (1
1
⁄
2
-1
3
⁄
4
hr.). About six high-speed
trains a day connect with Florence (1
3
⁄
4
-2
1
⁄
4
hr.).
The train station is about a 20-minute walk from the city center; from
the front of the station, follow Viale Bottego east for 1 block to Via Garibaldi,
which leads past the grassy lawns of Piazza della Pace, backed by the massive
and museum-filled Palazzo della Pilotta, and then continue on to the central
Piazza Garibaldi.
The
tourist office
(Via Melloni, 1A;
%
0521-218889; turismo.comune.parma.it)
is closed Sunday afternoons.
Accommodations in the Heart of Town
€€
-
€€€
55
(Via A. Mazza, 7, just off Strada
Garibaldi;
%
0521-281046; www.hotel-torino.it)
is my top choice for moderately
priced accommodations in Parma, with doubles going for
€
90 to
€
125. The
location—in the pedestrian zone between the Teatro Reggio and the Duomo—is
The charming
Hotel Torino
