L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS diversity and build respect for t h e c u l t u r e s o f o t h e r s . W e always embraced multicultural- ism and inclusion." In this year of culture, more than 400 initiatives will be host- e d i n t h e c i t y ' s v e n u e s a n d throughout the Parma region ranging from art exhibitions and cinema events to food meetings, workshops, concerts and theatre performances—a full schedule of events is listed on the web- site: www.parma2020.it T h e s h o w W e , F o o d , o u r Planet: Feeding a Sustainable Future is now underway at the Galleria San Ludovico. In his 14th-century literary masterpiece The Decameron, Giovanni Boccaccio describes the Parma region as an earthly p a r a d i s e f u l l o f p e o p l e immersed in a mountain made of grated Parmesan cheese. In his distinct satirical tone, he w r i t e s t h a t t h o s e f o l k s w e r e "doing nothing except making tortelli" and "they cooked them i n a c a p o n b r o t h , t h e n t h e y threw them down upon it from the mountain, and the more they caught them, the more they had them." Parmesan cheese is impossi- ble to replicate elsewhere out- side of the Parma and Reggio Emilia regions. The first dairies were housed at local Cistercian monasteries, surrounded by abundant watercourses starting from the Parma River that cross- es the city and ample pasture- land. The best way to see how the locals celebrate food is to visit their homes, witness their joy of nourishing family or experience the food festivals such as the P r o s c i u t t o f e s t i v a l o r November's celebration of pork i n t h e c u l a t e l l o t o w n s o f Z i b e l l o , P o l e s i n e , S i s s a a n d Roccabianca along the River Po. As befitting a capital of cul- ture, Parma has many rewarding m o n u m e n t s , m u s e u m s , a n d churches. Layers of history are revealed when you walk the city that is so full of stately palazzi and spacious piazzas. The layout of streets shows that Parma was a c o l o n y o f R o m e — i t w a s founded by the Romans 2,203 years ago. The medieval town is immor- talized in the gorgeous six-story octagonal Baptistery of pink- and-cream Verona marble built b y a r c h i t e c t a n d s c u l p t o r Benedetto Antellani. You get lost into the splendors of the Renaissance expressed by the Parma master of chiaroscuro Antonio Allegri da Correggio ( 1 4 8 9 - 1 5 3 4 ) , b e s t k n o w n a s Correggio. The Cathedral is a masterpiece, with his immense dome frescoes. Correggio's sen- sual art amazes in the Monastery of Saint Paul, wherein 1518, the master designed and decorated the private apartments of the Abbess Giovanna da Piacenza in secular scenes to honor Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt and chastity. Santa Maria Della Steccata is another unmissable Renaissance site with its mysterious figures of the wise and foolish virgins p a i n t e d i n t h e v a u l t o f t h e Basilica by another Parma mas- t e r k n o w n a s P a r m i g i a n i n o (1503-1540). The top Baroque location is Palazzo della Pilotta with its wooden Theatre Farnese that the Duke of Parma and Piacenza Ranuccio I Farnese had built in 1618 to celebrate the stopover of t h e G r a n d D u k e o f T u s c a n y Cosimo II de 'Medici, who was heading to Milan to sign a mar- riage contract between the two families. As well, Pilotta houses the Palatina Library whose 700,000 books include one of the most important troves of H e b r e w m a n u s c r i p t s i n t h e world. In 1731, practical control of the Duchy of Parma passed from t h e F a r n e s e f a m i l y t o t h e Habsburgs and in 1748 to the Bourbons. The city was blos- s o m i n g i n t h e A g e o f Enlightenment and its economy got a boost from the moderniza- tion of printing fueled by the m e t i c u l o u s w o r k o f Gianbattista Bodoni, the great type designer and publisher who developed the serif typeface that still carries his name. His very influential manual of typogra- phy, Il Manuale Tipografico, was first printed five years after his death in 1813. O n M a y 2 2 , 1 8 1 3 , a P a r m e n s e m u s i c g e n i u s w a s b o r n i n l i t t l e R o n c o l e a s Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi. The Iconic composer Giuseppe Verdi, the son of an innkeeper, united Italy with his operas and created an important part of Italy's national identity. O p e r a b o o m e d u n d e r t h e r e i g n o f M a r i a L u i g i a o f Habsburg-Lorraine, Duchess of Parma from 1814 until her death i n 1 8 4 7 a t 5 6 . S h e w a s Napoleon's second wife. But N a p o l e o n m a d e n o f u r t h e r attempt to contact her personally after his exile to Saint Helena in 1815. Maria Luigia was beloved in Parma, the "petite capital," and still, she is. She adored and cultivated violets that she used as a symbol of purity and power. Continued from page 4 The Teatro Regio, in Parma, one of Italy's capitals of opera (Copyright: Edoardo Fornaciari) Giuseppe Verdi's birthplace, in Roncole di Busseto (Copyright: Edoardo Fornaciari) Continued from page 8

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