Parma

The course I attended was held at the University of Parma. Upon hearing that I was headed to Parma, every Italian I spoke to inevitably said "Parma is nice. It's small." They were right on both counts. One of the first things that struck me on my arrival to Parma was the river that runs through town. Coming from Venice, the sight of green grass and trees was a little shocking. The hotel I stayed in was only a block from the river so I got to see it a lot.

The center of town, just east of the river, is small and full of shops and restaurants. The absolute center of town (I overheard a tour guide claim it as such) is marked by an interesting building. It is rather out of the typical Italian style. Rather than a Duomo, it is a sort of bland building with a little tower. But the tower has some really cool stuff on it. I couldn't really figure out how to read it, but besides the time, it told things like the year, and what I assume is other astrological data. If you click on the picture you may be able to see it.

Of course, just because it wasn't distinguished as the "center" of town, Parma does indeed have a Duomo. I found the square in front of the Duomo much nicer than the actual center of town precisely because it wasn't the center of town and was therefore more peaceful and quieter.

Another cool place near the Duomo is the Piazza della Pace, which boasts a large grassy area for people to picnic and just generally hang out. It even had a reflection pool (that on both occasions when I visited didn't have any cool reflections).


I notice a lot more people on bicycles in Parma than anywhere else in Italy. Perhaps because it's smaller than other towns it is more feasible to bike everywhere. The bus system seemed pretty good too, although that I think is common in all Italian towns. One interesting thing we noticed while walking home late from dinner one night (dinner is apparently never to be eaten before the hour of 10:00 pm--a real trial for me) was a bus with a strobe light inside and thumping music. I later learned that this special bus is the "movido" and it is meant to encourage people who are out drinking to take the bus rather than drive! The bus was rather empty, so either it doesn't work too well or people don't start going home until after 1:00 am!