Parma, a city known for its artistic excellence – Antelami, Correggio, Parmigianino – and its cultural and musical traditions – Verdi, Toscanini, the Farnese and the Regio Theaters – and home to one of the oldest universities in Italy, is rich in monuments and works of art. Destination of Grand Tour travelers, it is famous all over the world for its food products, such as cheese and ham and for its cuisine (it was recently named UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy).

In the last decades of the twentieth century Parma was able to renew its cultural traditions with the foundation of CSAC  (Study Centre and Communications Archive  of the University of Parma). Since its opening, CSAC has been committed to the organization of numerous exhibitions and the publishing of catalogues. CSAC is now housed in the Valserena Abbey. Its extraordinary collections of works of art, photographs, architectural drawings, design, fashion and graphic design counts 12 million pieces organised in various sections.

The departure from Milan is scheduled at 9:00 am

In the morning there will be a guided  tour of CSAC in the Valserena Abbey (a few km from the city center of Parma).  
www.csacparma.it/en 

Lunch will be offered to participants at CSAC.

Abbazia di Valserena (PR)
© CSAC Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione – Università degli Studi di Parma

 

In the afternoon, there will be a visit to three museums belonging to the “Casa della Musica” (House of Music): Museo Arturo Toscanini, Museo dell’Opera and Casa del Suono (House of Sound).

 

MUSEO ARTURO TOSCANINI 

On March 25, 1867 Arturo Toscanini was born in this house “Oltretorrente” (Beyond the river): a working class neighborhood, inhabited by people fond of music, proud and politically restless. Toscanini felt a strong bond to this place throughout his life. The House reopened on January 16, 2007 and is now completely revamped from the museological and structural viewpoint, although maintaining the characteristics and atmosphere of the old birthplace. Every room and every corner of the house tells stories of the life and work of the great maestro, organized in thematic sections: “Parma and Toscanini”, “Toscanini’s life”, “The image of the myth “, “Traveling companions”, “Toscanini, records and other media “,” The years at the Scala” “and” Other memories …. “. Toscanini’s birthplace is now a renovated and modern museum; a place where the objects who belonged to the maestro  are conserved, a place for remembrance and reflection, where historical records and precious family objects are side by side with the most modern multimedia technology tools.
www.museotoscanini.it 

 

Museo Casa Natale Toscanini | © Casa della Musica – Comune di Parma

MUSEO DELL’OPERA

The Museum draws on the traditions of Parma, in order to chart four centuries of history of the opera, through the themes and protagonists that animated it from its origins to the present day.

Targeted to a wide audience – from a simple opera fan to students and specialists – the Museum displays documents from the past (objects, posters, photographs) mainly belonging to the Archive of the historical Teatro Regio. The visit is supported by a multimedia and computer system to access audio-visual and custom made materials.
www.operamuseo.parma.it 

CASA DEL SUONO

The Casa del Suono (House of Sound), housed in  the  evocative former church of St. Elisabeth (dating from the mid-seventeenth century), was created with the ambition to reflect on our way of listening and understanding music and intends to address a wide audience, i.e. all those who listen to music and sounds reproduced also by technological devices. The itinerary proposed by Casa del Suono shows the history and evolution of such devices up to the present day (from the phonograph to the gramophone, from the radio to the tape recorder, from the compact disc to the iPod) and a takes a glimpse into the future. Among the objects conserved, a precious collection of phono-producers, as well as devices with innovative sound reproduction systems. Scientific and artistic research is carried out, along with educational and dissemination activities.
www.casadelsuono.it