Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/336

 314 PARMA PARMA, one of the finest cities of northern Italy, is situated in 44 48 N. lat. and 10 20 R long., 35i miles by rail south-east of Piacenza and 32| north-west of Modena, in a fertile tract of the Lombard plain within view of the Alps, and sheltered by the Apennines. From south to north it is traversed by the channel of the Parma, crossed here by three bridges; and from east to west for a distance of 6700 feet runs the line of the yEmilian Way, by which ancient Parma was connected on the one hand with Ariminum (Rimini), and on the other with Placentia (Piacenza) and Mediolanum (Milan). The old ramparts and bastions (excluding the circuit of the citadel in the south east) make an enceinte of about 4^ miles, but the enclosed area is not all occupied by streets and houses ; there is an extensive &quot;royal garden&quot; or public park in the north-west angle, as well as a botanical garden and public promenades in the neighbourhood of the citadel, and various open spaces in other parts. In the centre of the city the ./Emilian Way widens out into the Piazza Grande, a large and picturesque- looking square which contains the Palazzo del Comune and a modern statue of Correggio, whose masterpieces form the chief artistic attraction of Parma. The cathedral of the Assumption (originally St Herculanus), erected between 1064 and 1074, and consecrated in 1106 by Pope Paschal II., is a Romano-Byzantine building in the form of a Latin cross, 230 feet .long by 84 feet wide. The west front, 94 feet high and 90 feet broad, is relieved by three rows of semicircular arches, and has a central porch (there were at one time three) supported by huge red marble lions sculptured by Bono da Bisone. The walls and ceiling of the interior are covered with frescos ; those of the octagonal cupola representing the Assumption of the Virgin are by Correggio, but much restored (see CORREGGIO, vol. vi. p. 437). The crypt contains the shrine of Bishop San Bernardino degli Uberti and the tomb of Bartolommeo Prato the former by Prospero Clementi of Reggio. To the south-west of the cathedral stands the baptistery, designed by Benedetto Antelami; it was commenced in 1196 and completed in 1281. The whole structure, which has a height of 98 feet and a diameter of 76 feet, is com posed of red and grey Verona marble. Externally it is an irregular octagon, each face consisting of a lower story with a semicircular arch (in three cases occupied by a portal), four tiers of small columns supporting as many continuous architraves, and forming open galleries, and above these a row of five engaged columns supporting a series of pointed arches and a cornice. Internally it is a polygon of sixteen unequal sides, and the cupola is sup ported by sixteen ribs, springing from the same number of columns. In the centre is an octagonal font bearing date 1298. To the east of the cathedral, and at no great distance, stands the church of San Giovanni Evangelista, which was founded along with the Benedictine monastery in 981, but as a building dates from the 16th century, and has a facade erected by Simone Moschino early in the 17th. The frescos on the cupola representing the vision of St John are by Correggio, and the arabesques on the vault of the nave by Anselmi. Madonna della Steccata (Our Lady of the Palisade), a fine church in the form of a Greek cross, erected between 1521 and 1539 after Zaccagni s designs, contains the tombs and monuments of many of the Bourbon and Farnese dukes of Parma, and preserves among a rich variety of paintings Parmigiano s Moses Breaking the Tables of the Law and Anselmi s Coronation of the Virgin. The ducal palace, usually called La Pilot ta, is a vast and irregular group of buildings dating mainly from the 16th and 17th centuries; it now comprises the academy of fine arts (1752) and its valuable picture gallery (Correggio s St Jerome and Madonna della Scodella), the schools of painting, sculpture, and engraving, the archaeological museum (Trajan s Tabula Alimentaria and ruins from Velleia), and the great royal library (with De Rossi s Oriental MSS. and Zani s collection of engravings, Luther s Hebrew Psalter and Bodoni s types and matrices). The Teatro Farnese, a remarkable wooden structure erected in 1618-19 from Aleotti d Argenta s designs, and capable of containing 4500 persons, has long been in a very ruined condition; the new theatre, opened in 1829, cost 80,000, and is celebrated as one of the best in Europe for the clear conveyance of sound. The royal university of Parma, founded in 1601 by Ranuccio I., and reconstituted by Philip of Bourbon in 1768, had 217 students in 1881-82. Among the benevolent institutions, in which the city is particularly rich, are a monte di pieta dating from 1488 and a hospital for incurables founded in 1332. Leather, silk-stuff for sieves, linen, hemp, and cotton stuffs, glass, crystal, and earthenware, wax candles, cast-iron wares, and pianofortes are all manufactured in or near the city ; a very considerable trade is carried on in grain, cattle, and the dairy produce of the district. The &quot;grana&quot; cheese known as Parmesan is not now so well made at Parma as in some other parts of Italy Lodi, for example. The popula tion in 1861 was 47,067 for the city and 47,428 for the commune ; the removal of the military and civil function aries of the old duchy caused a considerable decrease, and the figures for 1881 were only 44,492 and 45,217. The old Gallic town of Parma, which became a Roman colonia civium for 2000 colonists in 183 B c., and after it had been plundered by Mark Antony s soldiers was recruited by Augustus, continued to be a place of importance till the later times of the empire. Under Theodoric its walls were rebuilt. The Greeks of the 6th century called it Chrysopolis or City of Gold, and this name appears in the mediaeval chronicles as Grisopolis. In 872 Carloman granted the city to bishop Widiboldus with the title of count. During the llth, 12th, and 13th centuries Parma had its full share of the Guelf and Ghibelline struggles, and also carried on repeated hostilities with Borgo San Donnino and Piacenza. As a republic its government was mainly in the hands of the Rossi, Pallavicino, Correggio, and Sanvitale families. The fruitless siege of Parma in 1248 was the last effort of the unfortunate Frederick II. In 1303 the city became a lordship for Giberto da Correggio, who laid the basis of its territorial power by conquering Reggio, Brescello, and Guastalla, and was made commander-in chief of the Guelfs by Robert of Apulia. The Correggio family never managed to keep possession of it for long, and in 1346 they sold it to the Visconti, and from them it passed to the Sforza. Becoming subject to Pope Julius II. in 1512, Parma remained (in spite of the French occupa tion from 1515 to 1521)apapal possession till 1545, when Paul III. (Alexander Farnese) invested his son Pierluigi with the duchies of Parma and Piacenza. There were eight dukes of Parma of the Farnese line Pierluigi (died 1547), Ottavio (1586), Alessandro (1592), Ranuccio I. (1622), O.loardo (1646), Ranuccio II. (1694), Francesco (1727), Antonio (1731). See FARNESE, vol. ix. p. 36. Antonio and Francesco both having died childless, the duchy passed to Charles of Bourbon (Don Carlos), infante of Spain, who, becom ing king of Naples in 1735, surrendered Parma and Piacenza to Austria, but retained the artistic treasures of the Farnese dynasty which he had removed from Parma to Naples. Spain reconquered the duchies in the war of succession (1745) ; they were recovered by Austria in 1746 ; and Maria Theresa again surrendered them to Don Philip, infante of Spain, in 1748. Ferdinand, Philip s son, who succeeded under Dutillot s regency in 1765, saw his states occupied by the revolutionary forces of France in 1796, and had to purchase his life-interest with 6,000,000 lire and 25 of the best paintings in Parma. On his death in 1802 the duchies were incor porated with the French republic and his son Louis became &quot; king of Etruria.&quot; Parma was thus governed for several years by Moivau de Saint-Mery and by Junot. At the congress of Vienna, Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla were assigned to Marie Louise (daughter of Francis I. of Austria and Napoleon s second consort), and on her death they passed in 1847 to Charles II. (son of Louis of Etruria and Marie Louise, daughter of Charles IV., king of Spain). The new duke, unwilling to yield to the wishes of his people for greateV political liberty, was soon compelled to take flight, and the duchy was for a time ruled by a provisional Government and by Charles Albeit of Sardinia; but in April 1849 Baron d Aspre, with 15,000 Austrians, took possession of Parma, and the ducal government was restored under Austrian protection. Charles II. (who had in 1820 married Theresa, daughter of Victor Emmanuel of Sardinia) abdi cated in favour of his son Charles III., March 14, 1849. On the