Parma
9434 La Reggia di Là Da L’Acqua
Il giardino e il palazzo dei duchi di Parma
Text by Antonio Musiari, Angelo Calvani, Francesco Baroncelli, Lucia Fornari Schianchi, Giuseppe Cirillo, Giovanni Godi, Diane De Grazia, Corrado Mingardi, Alessandra Mordacci. Curated by Giovanni Godi. Introduction by Franco Maria Ricci
1991 / 288 PAGES.
Language: Italian
In 1545 Parma became the capital of the duchy and, consequently, it needed a suitable seat for the Farnese family’s residence. This publication carries out a historical-artistic analysis of the Ducal Palace of Parma, an anachronistic construction not in the city centre but in Oltretorrente, ‘di là da l’acqua’ (beyond the stream water).
Starting in 1561, Ottavio Farnese began planning the construction of his family’s residence in the new capital of the duchy. This was to represent in a spatial and architectural sense the power of the duke and the dignity of his family. Opening with a historical account of the events that led to the construction of the Ducal Palace of Parma, the book is divided into a series of essays that explore the various parts of the palace: from the design of the garden, to the Boudard statues along the garden paths, to the paintings and decorations in the various rooms of the palace, and on to the evidence of the celebrations that first the Farnese and later the Bourbons organised inside it.