Prior to my visit to Parma, I heart already about the ensemble of Tower, Baptistery and Duomo with Romanesque façade and Baroque decoration of the dome by Corregio, and, of course, about prosciutto crudo and parmiggiano reggiano… So, I was very curious. Eventualy, I was slightly disappointed by what I have seen in Parma (but definitely not by what I ate there…)

It is true that the highlight of Parma is the ensemble  of Duomo with Bell Tower and Baptistery (PHOTO). The latter is really masterpiece - especially interior. The cathedral has the west façade comparable to churches in Pavia or Arezzo. Its shape is quite special: it has three apses, which are not parallel to each other but perpendicular - as seen also in Pisa. The bell tower reminds me S Zeno in Verona. Almost every inch of interior is covered by Baroque frescoes (go also to nearby S Giovanni Evangelista to see something comparable!) with the focus point in the dome with famous Assumption of the Virgin (I must frankly say that I expected that it would be more spectacular…)

But the rest of town lacks something that would make the historical center really exceptional. The frame of streets is compact and quite big, but besides few other large churches and Galleria Nazionale there is nothing that would compete with the ensemble seen in Piazza del Duomo. There are better examples of historical towns in Emilia such as (already WHS) Ferrara or even Bologna. The Duomo with Baptistery has also no chance to be inscribed, because this is already well represented even in Italy such as Pisa, Florence, Siena, etc.