Chamber of Saint Paul and Saint Catherine’s cell
Via Melloni, 3/A - 43121 - Parma
Phone: +39 0521218215
Opening times
Opening hours: Monday, Thursday and Friday from 9.30am to 5.30pm (last admission at 5pm); Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 9.30am to 6.30pm (last admission at 6pm); closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Open on Easter, Easter Monday, April 25, May 1 and June 2, 2023. Open on Tuesday October 31, 2023.
CLOSED FOR RESTAURATION WORKS FROM NOVEMBER 2, 2023 TO JANUARY 3, 2024.
Prices
full price € 5.00;
reduced € 3.00 (18-25 years old, affiliated, groups of at least 8 people with licensed guide, teachers, employees of MIC and the Municipality of Parma);
reduced € 2.00 (6-18 years old and school groups);
free up to 5 years, disabled and carer, ICOM members, journalists, licensed guides, in the days of “I Like Parma” or other agreed national events.
Groups can access at least 8 people, maximum 20. Co-presence is allowed 10 people at a time.
Free entrance the first Sunday of every month.
Reservation is mandatory for groups on www.ticketlandia.com/m/camera-di-san-paolo
The chamber of Saint Paul used to be part of the abbess’ apartment in the Benedectine Convent of Saint Paul, decorated from 1514 at the order of Abbess Giovanna da Piacenza, whose priorate was characterized by a lively cultural life.
The frescoes painted by Correggio in 1519 can be considered true masterpieces of Italian High Renaissance art. In the room, an umbrella vault is divided into 16 segments by late Gothic ribs. Correggio, influenced by Mantegna, Raphael and Leonardo’s work in Milan, created the illusion of a pergola with festoons of fruit held up by ribbons. In the center of the dome can be seen the armorial bearings of Abbess Giovanna. In each of the 16 segments is an oval trompe-l’oeil opening, filled with finely executed putti in playful poses with dogs, bows and arrows, hunting gear and trophies.
At the base of the vault, faux-marble lunettes boast monochrome mythological figures in classical style and the hood over the huge stone fiereplace shows Diana on a Chariot preparing for the hunt.
These frescoes are clearly more than an allegory of the theme of the goddess of hunting: the cycle is widely aknowledged as a record of the fierce battle of the abbess against the civil and religious authorities, determined to reduce the political power of convents and to suppress their flourishing intellectual and social life.
The room next door, decorated in 1514 by Alessandro Araldi, was also part of the abbess’ apartment. A composition of grotesques with putti, fabulous beasts and gilt stucco rosettes stands out against the dark blue background. Tondi and panels show scenes from the Old and New Testaments while on the ceiling musical angels in a trompe l’oeil look out over a balaustrade.
Alessandro Araldi also frescoed a small chapel on the opposite side of the monastery garden, the Saint Catherine’s Cell, with two scenes of the Saint’s life.
The access to the Cell is not available at the moment, due to restoration works in the park.
The Chamber of Saint Paul is part of the Circuit of castles of Parma, Piacenza and Pontremoli.
Look at the gallery
