18 Blog Posts about My Adventures in Italy

“Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life.”
--Anna Akhmatov

April 2023 I traveled to Italy for the first time in my life. For reasons I can only guess I’ve always felt an inward desire to one day visit this magical place. How marvelous it was when on my 70th birthday I received an all expenses paid trip to Italy from my daughter.

While there I scrawled 40 pages of notes and took what seems like a thousand photos. Upon my return I began processing my experience by writing about it on my Ennyman’s Territory blog. Assembling them here in one place enables me to share them with a single link.

1. Initial Thoughts after my first trip to Italy

2. A Brief Overview of My Italy Adventure

3. 850 Years Old and Still Looking Good: The Battistero di Parma
4. The Galileo Museum in Florence Is Worthwhile Destination

5. Liberation Day: Italy Celebrates Victory Over Fascism, With Expressions of Gratitude to the U.S.

6. 1000 Rooms of Splendor: The Palazzo Pitti
7. Bob Dylan in Italy

8. The Death of Galileo

9. The Scarpelli Mosaici

10. Michelangelo’s David… A Showstopper

11. Daniela Meza Sigala: Florence Artist’s Seriously Whimsical Paintings

12. The Teatro Farnese in Parma

13. The Duomo in Florence: A History, plus Photos

14. One of the Most Famous Paintings in Florence: Ecce Homo (Behold the Man), by Antonio Ciseri

15. The Bargello: Another “Must See” Museum In Florence

16. L’Ippogrifo Stampe d’Arte: Mastery of a Grand Tradition

17. Snapshots from Parma, 2023--A Catalog of Memories
18. The Enigmatic Whisper: Da Vinci’s La Scapigliata

If you've never been, add it to your bucket list.

The Teatro Farnese in Parma, Italy

When I visited Parma my AirBnB was directly across the street from the National Gallery. I loved Parma and as I look through my photos I see that I still have so much to share. This blog entry is but an introduction to the Teatro Farnese, which is now preserved inside the Palazzo della Pilotta where the National Gallery is located. The theater is one of three grand Renaissance theaters still in existence today. 

The theater was built in 1618. At the time of its construction it was considered one of the most advanced theaters in Europe. The impetus for creating this grand theater came from the Duke of Parma and Piacenza Panucci I Farnese. The Teatro Farnese was used for operas (Parma is famous for its love of opera), plays, and ballets. It was also used for political events, including the wedding of Ranuccio II Farnese and Margherita de' Medici in 1628. The theatre was also used for private events, such as banquets and parties.

The theatre was almost destroyed by an Allied air raid during World War II (1944). Eventually rebuilt, it reopened in 1962 and is still in use today.

One of the nearby restaurants is called the Farnese.
Brenda was my server. And the meal was very good.

All photos on this page are my own except the one at the top of the page by www.bestofcinqueterre.com - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0