Parma

Translated by Gaston de Sédever.

Life of Francesco Mazzuoli, Parmigiano, Painter of Parma.

Part One.

Among the many natives of Lombardy who have been endowed with the gracious gift of design, with a lovely spirit of invention, and with a particular manner of making beautiful landscapes in their pictures, we should rate as second to none, and even place before all the rest, Francesco Mazzuoli of Parma, who was bountifully endowed by heaven with all those parts that are necessary to make a supreme painter, insomuch that he gave to his figures, in addition to what has been said of many others, a certain nobility, sweetness, and grace in the attitudes which belonged to him alone.

To his heads, likewise, it is evident that he gave all the consideration that is needful, and his manner has therefore been studied and imitated by innumerable painters, because he shed on art a light of grace so pleasing that his works will always be held in great price, and himself honored by all students of design.

Would to God that he had always pursued the studies of painting, and had not sought to pry into the secrets of congealing mercury in order to become richer than nature and heaven had made him, for then he would have been without an equal, and truly unique in the art of painting, whereas by searching for that which he could never find he wasted his time, wronged his art, and did harm to his own life and fame.

Francesco was born at Parma in the year 1504, and because he lost his father when he was still a child of tender age he was left to the care of two uncles, brothers of his father, and both painters, who brought him up with the greatest lovingness, teaching him all those praiseworthy ways that befit a Christian man and a good citizen.

Then having made some little growth he had no sooner taken pen in hand in order to learn to write than he began, spurred by nature who had consecrated him at his birth to design, to draw most marvelous things, and the master who was teaching him to write, noticing this and perceiving to what heights the genius of the boy might in time attain, persuaded his uncles to let him give his attention to design and painting.

It was the highway between Bologna and...

Modena and Parma and that whole stretch there we we got on there we wanted to go I think to to Modena but we got on and it said Bologna is this way Milan is that way yeah we don't want to go to

either one I don't want

to go to Milan I know that yeah but but uh I I wasn't sure of the uh geography at that point so I said well I guess I'll take the Bologna one because that's a lot closer to right And, of course, that was the wrong direction.

And I have loved that when we've been in bigger cities.

where, you know, if you were parking in our town and you wanted to walk to your car, it's probably never going to be farther than five minutes.

But when we've stayed overnight in Rome or Parma or something, I have loved it that when the parking gets started that you have to pay in the morning, you could just wake up in your bed and go to your app and add hours as opposed to having to actually put pants on and go do it at the kiosk.

I hate putting pants on.

manuscripts, which are

housed in the Biblioteca Pellatina in Parma, Italy, that is part of the Parma Conservatory, where Bottesini spent the last six months of his life, there are no solo double bass parts.

They're all taken from the cues that are either in the piano parts or the orchestral score.

Now, perhaps somewhere else in the world there are solo double bass parts, but I'm not aware of any.

bass part.

So I had to assume that that is how he would notate solo bass parts.

The one actual bass part, and that one is really quite interesting, that is in that collection of his manuscripts in Parma, is actually a bass part for Perquesta Bellamano.

Whoa! Right.

And so it's very tempting.

Let me also ask you, you know, an area I love and it's not as sunny is Emilia-Romagna and Bologna, perhaps, or Parma, Modena.

It kind of fits with your, you could get to Milan.

100%.

This is the famous, you know, Emilia Romagna Rosa.

Besides this, Bologna University City, definitely to be on the radar for anyone listening, especially younger ones.

And most importantly, Piacenza, Parma, Modena.

Lovely.