Parma Cathedral () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

, dedicated to the

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was ra ...

. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Parma. It is an important Italian Romanesque cathedral: the dome, in particular, is decorated by a highly influential illusionistic fresco by Renaissance painter

Antonio da Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for so ...

History

A basilica existed probably in the 6th century, but was later abandoned; another church had been consecrated in the rear part of the preceding one in the 9th century by count-bishop Guibodo. After a fire destroyed the early Christian basilica in August 1058, Bishop Cadalo broke ground for a new cathedral in a different place; the building was consecrated by

Paschal II Pope Paschal II (; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...

in 1106. The new church was heavily damaged by an earthquake in 1117 and had to be restored. Of the original building, remains can be seen in the presbytery, the transept, the choir and the apses, and some sculpture fragments.

Architecture

The wide façade, made from blocks of sandstone, was completed in 1178: it has three

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

floors and three portals, whose doors were sculpted by Luchino Bianchino in 1494. The portal also has two carvings by Luchino Bianchino. The two great marble lions supporting the archivolt columns were carved in 1281 by Giambono da Bissone. Between the central and the right doors is the tomb of the mathematician Biagio Pelacani, who died in 1416. The Gothic belfry, topped by a gilt copper angel, was added later, in 1284–1294:"Cathedral", Parma Welcome, Emilia-Romagna Turismo
/ref> a twin construction on the left side had been conceived, but it was never begun. Beside the Cathedral lies the octagonal Baptistery of Parma.

Interior

The interior has a Latin cross plan, with a nave and two aisles divided by pilasters. The presbytery and the transept are elevated, to allow space for the underlying crypt. Particularly noteworthy are the capitals; many of them are characterized by rich decorations with leaves, mythological figures, scenes of war, as well as Biblical and Gospel scenes. The cycle of frescoes in the nave and apse walls are by

Lattanzio Gambara Lattanzio Gambara (c. 1530 – 18 March 1574) was an Italian painter, active in Renaissance and Mannerism, Mannerist styles. It is likely that Gambara is the same 16th century painter referred to as ''Lattanzio Cremonese'' or ''Lattanzio da Cremo ...

"Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral", Piazza Duomo Parma
/ref> and

Bernardino Gatti Bernardino Gatti (c.1495 – 22 February 1576) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active mainly in Parma and Cremona. He is also commonly called il Sojaro. He was born in or near Pavia or Cremona. His early apprenticeship is unclear, ...

. Along the nave, in the lunettes above the spans are monochrome frescoes of Old Testament stories, as well as event of the passion. This culminates in the apse, frescoed with "Christ, Mary, Saints, and Angels in Glory" (1538–1544) by Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli. The main feature of the interior is the fresco of ''

Assumption of the Virgin The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of w ...

'' decorating the dome, executed by

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...

in 1526–1530. AntelamiDeposition

A 16th century red Verona marble staircase leads up to the transepts. In the right transept is the ''Deposition'', a bas-relief by Benedetto Antelami (1178).Woelk, Moritz. ''Benedetto Antelami – Die Werke in Parma und Fidenza'', Rhema-Verlag, Münster 1995, It originally was part of the ambo. The sacristy contains works attributed to Luchino Bianchini (1491). There are four reliefs by Benedetto Antelami, from 1178. The side chapels were built to house the sepulchres of the noble families of Parma: two of them, the ''Valeri Chapel'' and the ''Commune Chapel'', have maintained the original decoration from the 14th century. The ''Valeri Chapel'' is located on the left; its 15th-century frescoes are attributed to the studio of Bertolino de'Grossi. The frescoes in the ''Capella del Comune'' on the right, presumably by the same hands, were painted after the plague of 1410–11, and dedicated to

Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...

. The crypt fragments of ancient mosaics which show the presence here of a cult temple from at least the 3rd or 4th century AD. The Crypt has a monument to Saint Bernardo di Uberti, bishop of Parma 1106–1133, patron of the diocese. The monument, executed in 1544 by Prospero Clementi and Girolamo Clementi on the design of Mazzola Bèdoli. The Rusconi chapel located at the right of the crypt contains elegant frescoes commissioned by Bishop Giovanni Rusconi in 1398. The Ravacaldi chapel has frescoes attributed to the studio of Bertolino de'Grassi. File:Piazza Duomo Parma 2009-08.jpg, Piazza Duomo Parma 2009 File:Parma Duomo di Parma 007.JPG, apse File:08 Parma Cathedral, Italy.jpg, crypt File:Bernardino gatti, crocifissione tra i ss. agata, maddalena e bernardo degli uberti, 1566-68, 02.jpg, Crocifissione, Bernardino Gatti

References

Bibliography

*Pauluzzi F. (1894). ''Il duomo di Parma e i suoi arcipreti''. Udine, tip. del Patronato. 1894.

External links

*Piazza Duomo Parma
''Cattedrale''
retrieved: 3 November 2018. {{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1106 Churches completed in the 1100s 11th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...