2023-12-15 09:03:57
When people talk about Parma, everyone thinks about food and drink. First of course the cheese, the Parmigiano Reggiano, then the ham, Prosciutto di Parma. Pasta is also a given; in the city they prefer tortelli and anolini, along with regional wines, a white Malvasia or a red Lambrusco frizzante. Parma is also home to the world’s largest pasta manufacturer Barilla, a number of tomato canning factories and the headquarters of the European Food Safety Authority. The topic of gastronomy seems to be omnipresent, but on our first walk into the city we initially notice little of it.
Honor for the anti-fascist master conductor
Instead, first thing in the morning, on the way from the hotel to the old town, we encounter another Parmese passion, music. In a meadow in the Parco Ducale, hidden behind a few bushes, a lone tenor loudly sings an aria. We stand there, listen to this improvised performance as an unnoticed audience, and at the end we discreetly forego the applause that was actually due. Appropriately, on the edge of the park is the birthplace of Arturo Toscanini, who is revered in Parma not only for his musical successes, but also for his resistance to Mussolini. He repeatedly insulted the ruler because he steadfastly refused to conduct the fascist party anthem before concerts, as ordered.
The architecture is as impressive as the cuisine: the church of Santa Maria Assunta in Parma. : Image: Picture Alliance
But the undisputed musical star of the city – yesterday, today and undoubtedly tomorrow – is Giuseppe Verdi. Born and raised in a village just outside Parma, he left the region early, but nowhere is he paid greater homage than here. A colossal monument wall shows the maestro surrounded by his opera characters, and moments of his political engagement are depicted on the back. We find it hard to believe that this is just a fragment of what was originally a much larger monument that was destroyed in bombing raids in World War II – a monumental semicircle with twenty-seven niches for each of his operas. On the anniversary of Verdi’s birth and death in October and January, thousands of people from town and country sing his arias together. Just a few steps further, across the Angelo Mazza alley, there is a light installation with the words “Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate” – rise, thought, on golden wings – the beginning of the famous Nabucco choir, for a long time a kind of secret national anthem the Italian.
Verdi arias on the balcony
Because the Verdi Festival has just started, the whole city is decorated with posters. There are parades and processions with local choirs, classical and experimental opera performances, as well as free outdoor events as part of the “Verdi Off” program. At lunchtime we mingle with the audience waiting in front of the Teatro Regio for one of the daily highlights. For a month, soloists from the Arrigo Boito Conservatory will present arias from Verdi operas from the balcony. On Via Garibaldi in front of the building there is no access for cars and bicycles for a quarter of an hour.
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