PALAZZO DELLA PILOTTA

This imposing palace was built at the end of the ^16th century to house the Farnese court and the city's institutions. Today it houses the Teatro Farnese, the Galleria Nazionale, the Biblioteca Palatina and the Museo Archeologico.

Built between 1618 and 1619, the Teatro Farnese is the prototype of the Italian baroque theater. Built in wood, its terraces are topped by two floors of porticos and trompe-l'oeil paintings. Its only function was to show the power of the Farnese family: between 1619 and 1631, it was only used nine times. Grandiose and unique in its kind, it is simply impressive. Especially when you think that at the time, real naval battles were reproduced thanks to an unprecedented water evacuation system. Almost completely destroyed during the Second World War, it was rebuilt identically in the 1950s.

The Galleria Nazionale houses one of the most important collections of paintings in Italy. Enriched by the acquisitions of Maria Luigia of Austria, this particularly remarkable collection of works of art includes masterpieces such as the Scapigliata, Leonardo da Vinci's incredibly soft drawing of a young girl. Paintings by the Parmesan (the Turkish Maid) and Correggio, artists very active in Parma in the ^sixteenth century, but also by Fra Angelico, Van Dyck, Brueghel, El Greco.

The archaeological museum contains pre-Roman and Roman remains found in the Parma area.