On the occasion of the bicentenary of the arrival in Parma of Marie Louise of Austria, the Associazione Amici di Verdi organized some guided tours to the places of the Duchess.

Among these ones the appealing visit to the exhibition “La fucina delle arti: l’Accademia della Duchessa” (A breeding ground of arts: the Academy of the Duchess).
Before entering the exhibition, with the precious guide of Dr. Elena Bonilauri, we ambled around the Pilotta with a short trip “oltretorrente” to the Ducal palace and its park.

Here we show some images of this interesting and huge building (see:Pilotta palace)

A bit of history:
built around 1580, under the rule of the Duke Ottavio Farnese, it was many times transformed during the centuries: its various changes are reconstructed by an animation of Wikipedia.

A note:
In the last image [n° 28] a sketch to give you the rough idea of the present size of this building.

For more info:
wikipedia: Palazzo_della_Pilotta
breeding ground of Arts: the Academy of the Duchess (2^part)