D030712 Parma

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Parma

July 12, 2003

Dear Friends and Families,

Our first excursion from our temporary base in Pontremoli was a local train trip to Parma, home of cheese, ham, and a famous Renaissance cathedral and baptistery. We have pictures for the buildings, but first, the basics on Parma cheeses and ham.

On our 11-stop train ride inland to Parma, we passed through 23 tunnels in the rugged coastal mountains. As we approached Parma, we entered flat farmlands. However, in a land famous for cheese and ham, we saw no cows or pigs. Strange. We did see large fields of hay and storage barns with even more hay, so there had to be animals somewhere.

Later, Fabio explained the cheese-ham eco system. To make authentic Parmesan cheese, farmers must strictly control the diet each cow eats. No wild clover for these cheese-milk producers, so the poor beasts never leave the barns where they are fed that hay we saw in the fields. As for the pigs, true Parma ham comes from pigs raised on the whey from the cheese producers. I suppose there are other steps that close the food chain from hog slaughter to growing hay, but our tour guide spared us those details.

He did tell us about a great restaurant ("Del Tribunale") in Parma where we could sample the famous food and it was wonderful. All that attention to detail does pay off!

Beyond that, here are some pictures:

This is the start of the Parma cheese-ham food chain.

The tower of the Parma Duoma and the Baptistry. In this case, the Baptistry may be fancier than the church.

The church interior is still nice, with marble everywhere.

The 20th Century altar, though modern by Italian standards, kept with the ancient feel.

The highlight however was The Baptistry. Its pink marble gave everything a warm glow. The main baptismal font was in two pink tones that gave the impression of a perennial sunbeam.

The smaller baptismal font was watched over by 800-year old frescoes.

For me, the ceiling was an optical illusion. From any of the sides, I would swear it was not symmetric but centered toward that side. From the middle of the floor, it looked properly centered.

The oldest of the frescoes seemed both fresh and ancient.

Take care and go eat Parma cheese and ham!

John and Marianne

ps: Parma website: http://turismo.commune.parma.it/turismo

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	This is the start of the Parma cheese-ham food chain.		The tower of the Parma Duoma and the Baptistry. In this case, the Baptistry may be fancier than the church.
The church interior is still nice, with marble everywhere.		The 20th Century altar, though modern by Italian standards, kept with the ancient feel.
	The highlight however was The Baptistry. Its pink marble gave everything a warm glow. The main baptismal font was in two pink tones that gave the impression of a perennial sunbeam.		The smaller baptismal font was watched over by 800-year old frescoes.
For me, the ceiling was an optical illusion. From any of the sides, I would swear it was not symmetric but centered toward that side. From the middle of the floor, it looked properly centered.		The oldest of the frescoes seemed both fresh and ancient.