Today was my last day in Parma and it was a busy one, despite some general intentions to relax. The weather was beautiful, which is fantastic but always means more work! I made a day trip by train to nearby Fidenza, took many more photos of Parma, and got ready for the move to Bologna tomorrow morning.
My friend Sarah is on her way to the airport right now, which is very exciting! She arrives in Bologna to join me tomorrow evening. And David is packing up tonight too - his flight home from Amsterdam leaves at 10:30 tomorrow morning. He's pretty excited to be home. Sarah actually has a layover in Amsterdam and they are only going to miss each other by about an hour! So tomorrow is a big travel day for my loved ones.
Fidenza
I really didn't feel like going back to the train station today, but duty called - Fidenza is only 12 minutes away by train and it has an important Romanesque cathedral. It was a stop on the Via Francigena - the medieval pilgrimage route to Rome - and has lots of great sculptures on its facade. So off I went. I did second class on the train this time (only 5 euros round trip) so it was crowded and smelled like pee, but at least the ride was short.
I didn't have a map of Fidenza, but had studied Google Maps and written down some directions - sadly, they didn't quite get me there! Street signs were few and far between, for one thing. So I was wandering around, knowing I had to be near the cathedral but not seeing it, when David happened to call. It was great to hear from him anyway, but he was also able to find my location on Google Maps (based on the street signs I did see) and direct me to the cathedral. Hooray!
Fidenza was very sleepy and reminded me more of southern Italy, despite being so close to bustling Parma. I was the only visitor at the cathedral and I don't think they get many at all - the locals gave me lots of interested looks as I snapped away. Here's a small selection of the results:
Crooked view of the west facade (I'll straighten 'er up when I get home)
East end
Cute little ram guarding a portal
Medieval sculptures galore!
Inside, the choir was having its portrait taken! It was quite a surprise to find so many people in there, with it being such a ghost town outside. I lucked out again to arrive when I did, as they unceremoniously switched off all the lights immediately afterwards, giving absolutely no regard to my sad face.
Found some bones in the crypt! Presumably those of the patron saint of the cathedral.
Job completed, I was fortunately able to find my way back to the train station without any problems, and was happy to get back to Parma by the mid-afternoon.
Parma
And finally, here are a few more photos of Parma, which has treated me well during my solo adventure.
First up is Parma Cathedral, which is Romanesque with Renaissance frescoes. It's quite lovely. Sadly the tall belltower was shrouded in scaffolding, but everything else was great. Inside, you could put a Euro coin in a machine to turn on the lights in the nave and dome - fantastic! I donated quite a few Euros.
12th-century sculpture of Jesus being taken down from the cross; that's Joseph of Arimathea embracing him and Nicodemus on the ladder.
12th-century Bishop's Palace opposite the square from the cathedral
Church of San Giovanni Evangelista, located just behind the cathedral. A funeral was ending when I visited this evening; it was really sad.
Buildings by the cathedral at sunset
Good night!
