Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Nowadays, virtually all that remains of the original is the upper half of the facade and, in-
side, the crypt.
Museo del Tricolore
(Piazza Prampolini; 9am-noon Tue-Fri, 10am-1pm & 3-7pm Sat & Sun)
A small exhibition
that attempts to cover a large subject, this proud memorial to the Italian tricolour flag is in
the main square. Next door in the 14th-century
Palazzo del Comune
is where the flag was
actually conceived.
At a meeting in the multitiered
Sala del Tricolore
in 1797, Napoleon's short-lived Cis-
padane Republic was proclaimed and the green, white and red tricolour was adopted for
the first time.
MUSEUM
Basilica della Beata Vergine
della Ghiara
(Corso Garibaldi)
Reggio's most important church is associated with a miracle involving a
boy called Marchino who couldn't hear or speak. After he witnessed an apparition of the
Virgin Mary in front of the
Blessed Virgin of Ghiara
painting (by G Bianchi) in 1569,
Marchino found his voice and was able to hear.
The church was built in 1597 as a sanctuary to honour this miracle and the Virgin has
been faithfully reproduced in a chapel inside. Architecturally the church is classic baroque
with notable paintings and frescoes by the top Emiliano artists of the period.
CHURCH
Musei Civici
(
www.musei.re.it
;
9am-noon Tue-Fri, 10am-1pm & 4-7pm Sat & Sun)
Reggio Emilia has
five city museums, collectively called the Musei Civici, but the best artefacts are located
inside the
Palazzo San Francesco
(Via Spallanzani; 9am-noon & 9-11pm Tue-Sat, 9-11pm Sun)
.
Thematic collections here include Roman archaeological finds (look out for the mosaics),
18th-century art, natural-history exhibits and a precis of the town's history.
MUSEUM
Galleria Parmeggiani
(Corso Cairoli 1; 9am-noon Tue-Fri, 10am-1pm & 4-7pm Sat & Sun)
The town's main art
gallery hails some worthwhile Italian, Flemish and Spanish paintings, as well as a hetero-
geneous collection of costumes, arms, jewellery and cutlery.
ART GALLERY
