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Welcome! This is one of the two "main" pages of my account of the wonderful trip arranged by Cornell's Adult University to the region of Parma and Bologna in June 2014
This page will take you through much of what we saw in the "Parma" part of the trip, in the order that those experiences arose. The "Bologna" part (came second) has a similar page.
There is also a "top" page for the trip, with an overview, and links to some other pages relating to the trip.
MORE TO COME! PAGE INCOMPLETE, but, at 14 July 14, "enough for now"
PICTURES HERE a somewhat random selection, so far. Some trivia reported, some Main Events neglected... so far!
Unlike the "en route" page, not all new material will arrive on this page at the top. Sorry! You'll have to scan it to find new stuff.
Main group set out from Malpensa together at 11:05
Arrived Parma around 13:00. Free time. Wandered into town. A quiet Sunday afternoon. Had nice snack lunch in a very small "family" cafe. Given a place of delicious bruscetta gratis.
17:00 taken into town by our lovely guide, "Hello, my name is N...", for stroll into town, to give us our Parma bearings.
Photo: Parma's duomo, i.e. cathedral. Sadly, the bell tower you can see in the excellent aerial photo at the Wikipedia page for Parma's duomo is encased in scaffolding, following a fire after a lightning strike. (Links to most pages open in a new tab. Links to Wikipedia pages flagged "WP"). The facade dates from about 1200.
Close by, that important Parma establishment: K": Source of excellent gelato.
Lunch, Locana del Lupo, village outside Parma, on way to Bossetto.
15:10- Finished lunch, set off in coach to visit village of Bossetto. Passed Verdi's house quite soon.
15:20-15:45: Our first sundial! In town square, Bossetto, Verdi's town (adult life).
Group a little delayed setting out, but eventually off on foot into town of Parma, arriving at duomo by 10:10.
From entrance to Il Casetello Burantini, where there were sublime Correggio frescos.
10:15 - 11:00... a highlight of the trip. (This needs further explanation.) This image NOT by me. (Another place where no photography allowed. Sigh.) I obtained it from Wikimedia.org/Commons. It was originally uploaded to there from www.wga.hu
Monastero di San Paolo. "Camera" by Correggio, 1519. Extraordinarily beautiful. In the Appartamento Della Badessa (WP).
That's not nearly enough about this, and another fresco in the ceiling of a second room... but I've split the material out into a Corregio- specific sub-page, which I hope you will visit. It will open in a new tab. Just close it to get back here.
Theatro Farnese inside Palacio Pilotta, to 11:40... 1st modern theatre. Early 1600s. Rebuilt 1950s.
Collected by coach in town and taken to prosciutto (di Parma, of course.. the best!) factory, from where the view was....
12:50: Arrived prosciutto di Parma factory . Excellent tour followed by lunch from 1:15. Left c.15:35, arrived bottom of hill below Castello di Torracharia 15:50. Lovenest in 1460s
I've utterly failed. To capture the warm twinkle in "Hello, my name is N..."'s eyes. Sigh.
Castello di Torracharia...
17:00 Departed castle
Did you know that angels had laptop computers from at least 1801, when the original this was taken from was painted?
This entry started, of course, as a joke. A little research proved interesting, though. I believe the print, photographed in a shop window in Parma, was of something derived from Robert Lefèvre's, L'Amour Aiguisant Ses Traits, "Cupid Sharpening An Arrow", according to the British Museum (British Museum site) (and forgive me, but shouldn't that be "... his arrows"?). The British Museum seems to have a copy of the same print. What seems to be the original faces the other way, and the "laptop" is not nearly so evident. (See http://andrewhopkinsart.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/robert-lefevre-lamour-aiguisant-ses.html). Oh, the byways Google tempts us down... Sigh.
Day began with lecture from Martha on expanding universe.
Then to Cremona, started at duomo....
West end, Cremona duomo.
"Concert" in baptistery... solo violin, from high balcony. Sublime performance of some Bach. (12:20)
Violin museum: Although I don't have any photos polished yet... not sure I have any TO polish... they were another "no photos" venue... I must at least mention our visit to the museum in Cremona celebrating the work of Guarneri, Stradivar, etc... sons of Cremona. The town remains a center of violin, viola, double bass, lute production to this day. Beautifully done. Some amazing treasures beautifully displayed.
9:05-10:55 Cheese factory: La Traversetolese- Societa Agricola Cooperativa, www.caseificiotraversetolese.it
Weak back? Don't even think of applying for a job. Weak arms, shoulders? Not for long.
The cooking vats go down into the floor even further than they protrude above it, continuing to narrow.
Once made, the cheeses need to be aged. They are regularly turned and brushed during the aging process.
Nest stop... balsamic vinegar production facility.
I really am not making this up. The sign on the left, above, was at the entrance to the home of Hugo, whom you see, on the right. He was host in chief (when awake) at Acetaia Paltrinieri where we learned about the artisan production of balsamic vinegar, and had a fabulous lunch. "Balsamic": Of or pertaining to "balm". Nothing to do with "balsam" conifers.
Cave Canem? He might crush you, if he fell asleep (again) inconveniently. I knew I would enjoy lunch at this venue, with such a fine host. (His name is Hugo.) Some noisy macaws were resident with the neighbors. I couldn't see the birds; recognizing them by squawk alone was a frustrating mental challenge.
No... not a compilation of many meals. One meal. A fairly typical lunch or dinner. Breakfasts were hotel buffets... the usual rule of "stoke up at breakfast" did not need to be remembered. Sorry for the two images here in "en route", but one is high res, the other low, and they will eventually occupy different locations.
15:30- Onward to Bologna
16:40- Arrived Bologna hotel
On a wall in Bologna
Thank you for visiting my report of the first part of the Cornell Adult University tour to Italy, June 2014. There's a similar page reporting on the second, the "Bologna" part of the tour.
Want to look closely at some image? To zoom in on just bits of it? I explain how, and give some other browsing tips on the linked page.
If you came to this page by clicking on one of the links on the trip's main page, you can just close this tab to return there.
If you find yourself wanting to use a photo on this site, please see my page about using web-published material which is copyright TK Boyd. If you want to contact me, here's my eddress, or you can use the contact form. (Email best, as the contact form is often abused, and I don't read all messages arriving that way.) Corrections to bad information on the pages very welcome... don't be shy!
Page qWILL-BE has been tested for compliance with INDUSTRY (not MS-only) standards, using the free, publicly accessible validator at validator.w3.org. Mostly passes. There were two "unknown attributes" in Google+ button code. Sigh.