Hidden Gems of Italy: The Pilotta Palace

The monumental complex of the Pilotta palace in Parma comprises the National Gallery of Parma, the Farnese Theater, the National Archaeological Museum and the Palatine Library. 

Built around 1583, during the last years of reign of Duke Ottavio Farnese, the complex developed around the corridor (Corridore) which connected the keep to the Ducal Palace. It takes its name from the game of pelota played by Spanish soldiers stationed in Parma in the courtyard.

Few may be aware that the National Gallery of Parma boasts one of the most important collections of art in Italy. Painters exhibited include Beato Angelico, Canaletto, Correggio, Sebastiano del Piombo, Guercino, Leonardo da Vinci with the marvelous La Scapigliata, Parmigianino, Ludovico Carracci, Agostino Carracci and Tintoretto among others. 

The Parmense collections were established during the Renaissance by the wealthy Farnese family, with Pope Paul III and cardinal Alessandro Farnese. 

In the mid-17th century, the Farnese Collection was transported from Rome to Parma, making it one of the cultural capitals of Europe. This privilege did not last long and in 1734 the entire collection was transferred to Naples by Charles of Bourbon, who left the residences of the duchy unadorned. In 1748, the Duke Philip of Bourbon and his wife Louise Elisabeth of France, daughter of Louis XV, returned the collection to Parma.

The impressive Teatro Farnese was the court theater of the Dukes of Parma and Piacenza. It was built starting in 1618 by Ranuccio I, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, who intended to celebrate the visit of Cosimo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany with a theatrical performance. The theater soon fell into neglect and only recently, after almost three centuries of inactivity, it has returned to host theatrical events. Housed in a large hall, 87 meters long by 32 wide and 22 high, the U-shaped cavea is made up of 14 steps and could accommodate about 3,000 spectators. The structure was made of wood covered with stucco painted to simulate marble.

The Palatine Library contains an impressive collection of 40,000 ancient volumes while the National Archeological Museum remained for a long time a rare example in northern Italy of a museum established following archaeological excavations, in this case those at the ancient Roman site of Veleia.