Day 04 :: The Great Italian Escape! May 1st

Photos courtesy of the Glauco Lombardi Museum
A short walk from our downtown hotel through Ducale Park will take you to the Glauco Lombardi Museum. This unique museum housed in a 17th century palace, has a prestigious collection of art and historical items regarding Napoleon Bonaparte and Maria Luigia of Austria, Napoleon’s second wife and mother of the first heir to the French Imperial Kingdom. Our guide will talk about the dukedom of Empress Maria Luigia and her controversial life in Parma. See some of her dresses, sewing & embroidery equipment, fly fishing gear, portraits, and over 1,000 items are on display.
Photo courtesy of the Glauco Lombardi Museum
Hop on board your private motorcoach for the most fashionable Italian chic outlet shopping experience at Fidenza Village with prestigious Italian designer fashions, footwear and home accessories. As part of this tour, receive an exclusive “VIP ONE DAY CARD” which entitles you for discounts up to 70% off retail prices in over 70 luxury stores.

Parma Ham

Parmesan cheese row

No trip to Parma is complete without visiting the Parmigiano-Reggiano Museum. Learn about the prestigious Parmesan cheese artisan production and why this famous cheese is so appreciated all over the world. Tasting included. Up the road, enter the magnificent Fontanellato Castle surrounded by a moat. Its rich frescoes represent the myth of Diana and Atteone.

Tour the Culatello di Zibello Cave and learn about the ancient culinary seasoning techniques of processing the delicious Culatello/Parma Ham which was once reserved only for nobility. Enjoy a guided visit of the court wine cellars by Luciano Spigaroli, the owner the historical Antica Corte Pallavicina.

A few steps away, on the edge of the River Po, have dinner at Cavallino Bianco, a restaurant specializing in serving the local gourmet specialties including the Fortuna wine. Close your eyes, taste and savor the mouth-watering delicacies and you will think that you have passed over to “Food Heaven”.