The Verdi Festival in Parma

Itinerary

• Day 1 - Arrival

  We fly from London to Bologna and transfer to Parma where we stay at the 4 star Mercure Parma Stendhal in the centre of this vibrant city.

• Day 2 - Discovering Parma

  The day is spent in Parma, which was the seat of the all-powerful Farnese Family. We visit the important art collection at the Palazzo della Pilotta with many fine works including paintings by Correggio and Parmigianino. We will also see the Teatro Farnese - the first theatre with a proscenium arch and the great Romanesque cathedral with frescoes by Correggio.

• Day 3 - Verdi

  The entire day is devoted to Verdi. We will drive to Busseto today to visit Villa Verdi where many of the rooms are arranged just as the composer left them. We will have lunch at the Hotel I due Foscari, once owned by one of the greatest Verdi singers of all time, Carlo Bergonzi. Today his son Marco welcomes guests. We end the day with a visit to the humble farm dwelling where Verdi was born in 1813.

• Day 4 - Another day in Parma

  Staying again in Parma we will visit the house where Arturo Toscanini was born on 27 March 1867. Later we will go to the Camera di San Paolo where we will see one of the jewels of Parma – the frescoed ceilings by Correggio. The rest of the day is free.

• Day 5 - Cremona

  The day is spent in Cremona, a delightful historic town in Lombardy. Stradivarius was born here and today the town is full of luthiers still producing finely crafted instruments in their ateliers. We also visit the cathedral and the Museum of the Violin which has an unrivalled collection of historic instruments.

• Day 6 - Lunch and Parma

  The morning is free for further enjoyment of Parma which, in addition to its musical heritage, is considered to be the gourmet capital of Italy. We will have lunch at the Antico Corte Pallavicina, a magnificent restaurant on the banks of the River Po.

• Day 7 - Flight back to London

  We return to Bologna today for the flight back to London.