Diocesan Museum, Parma
Diocesan Museum (Museo Diocesano) in Parma, as you would guess, belongs to the subject of Christianity. The history of the development of this religion in the province can be traced in many copies that are collected here, since the time of the Roman Empire. Part of this museum can be called archaeological, since most of the exhibits were found during excavations.
History of the museum
The museum collection is very young, and it was discovered quite recently. It should be noted that archaeological work was carried out on the Piazza Duomo throughout the second half of the 20th century. And on the occasion of 2000 years since the birth of Christ, they decided to conduct excavations in the courtyard of the Episcopal Palace and the cemetery of Parma Cathedral. As a result, the city walls of the ancient period and evidence of the existence of the cathedral on this site in the early Middle Ages were discovered. After the excavation, all the finds were collected, systematized and it was decided to create a museum. For several years, the restoration work was carried out in the palace, completed in 2003. At the same time, a museum was opened in the basement of the building of the episcopal mansion.
Exposition of the museum
As any other modern museum, even the religious one, it is multimedia. There is a separate room dedicated to the Baptistery located on the square, which is presented virtually, through high-tech touch interactive panels. All exhibits of the museum are accompanied by panels that illustrate their significance in the context of origin, paying special attention to the formation of the episcopal complex, the cathedral and the baptistery. Within the museum route the visitor can see a number of late Roman city walls of the late 3rd century. Among exhibited items there are early Christian mosaics, coins, Roman frescoes and ancient Greek ceramics. The most important exhibits are:
- Early Christian Roman mosaic. It dates back to the 5th-6th century, and was found in 1955 on the square near the cathedral. It depicts various geometric figures, a bowl, two pairs of fish and a pair of dolphins.
- Fragments of the Roman sarcophagus. They date back to the 3rd century, and they have bas-reliefs depicting the four seasons of the year.
- Early Christian lamp. It depicts the monogram of Christ, the find belongs to the commune of Carignano.
- Six sculptures. They were installed in the 12-13th century in the external niches of the baptistery. These are statues of Solomon and Queen of Sheba, King David and Prophet Nathan, as well Archangels Michael and Gabriel.
- Statues of four lions. In the Middle Ages they supported the columns of the rear façade of the cathedral.
- Early medieval ceramics. It was found during excavations in the courtyard of the Episcopal Palace.
- Tapestry Ascension of Jesus. This is a real work of art made by a Belgian factory commissioned by the Catholic family of Farnese.
- Portraits of the Bishops of Parma.
In addition to the museum itself, it is possible to visit the Baptistery and the Cathedral, if there is no liturgy in them at the time of the visit.
How to get there
The museum is located in the historical part of Parma, on Piazza Duomo, 7. It is in the northern wing of the Episcopal Palace. The square is also surrounded by the Cathedral, the Baptistery and the church. And nearby there are the Museums of Bocchi and Lombardi. The nearest bus stop Teatro Regio is situated near the last, in 5 minutes of walking. It can be reached by routes 1, 2, 2N, 15.
Opening hours: from November to February from 10:00 to 17:00, from March to October – from 10:00 to 18:00. The ticket office closes 30 minutes earlier. Phone number (+39) 0521 235886.
Admission: the price of a full ticket is 8 euros, with a discount (pensioners, students, groups of 5 people) – 6 euros. For schoolchildren, the ticket price is 2 euros. Data of June 2018.
