Ticket for a visit to the Jesuit Quarter in Parma

Visiting the Pharmacy of St. Philip Neri with its rich collection of medical and chemical instruments, bottles, jars, printed and manuscript recipe books and inventories now allows us to retrace five hundred years of history and culture of care. Slowly the documents of the extremely rich Archive of the Charity's Congregation are rediscovered, the colours and voices of the ancient city emerge from the dust, exciting and unpublished stories of generous and frail citizens. In 1539, even before the canonical approval of the Society of Jesus, Parma had been chosen as the new Order's field of apostolate. Enriching the itinerary is the installation "Florilegium" by Rebecca Louise Law, a message of rebirth, a sky of 200,000 flowers blending in a chromatic continuum with the frescoes of the Oratory of San Tiburzio.

Guided tour guaranteed with a minimum of 6 people.

Entrance to the Ancient Pharmacy of St. Philip Neri in Vicolo San Tiburzio, 5

Price

€ 32,00
2 ½ hours

Gallery

Description

The guided tour takes in the University Building, the seat of the Ursuline Congregation, the current Courthouse Building erected on the site of the ancient Collegium of the Nobles, and the most important historical palaces of Via Farini, discovering curiosities and... more

The guided tour takes in the University Building, the seat of the Ursuline Congregation, the current Courthouse Building erected on the site of the ancient Collegium of the Nobles, and the most important historical palaces of Via Farini, discovering curiosities and anecdotes about the historical personalities and families who once inhabited them.

Diego Lainez and Pierre Favre, companions of Ignatius of Loyola, had been requested to the Pope by the Cardinal Legate Ennio Filonardi as 'cooperators, not so much to take over piety, as to vigorously oppose the propaganda of the Lutherans'. Through personal example and preaching, the two Jesuits proposed a new model of spiritual life, the reform of customs and exercised scrupulous doctrinal vigilance. To unite the efforts of men who were engaged in charitable activities at the time, Pierre Favre chose the Congregation of Charity, founded in the early 16th century by Francesco de Meda. The Congregation provided assistance to former prostitutes, orphans, prisoners, unmarried girls and lapsed noblemen, but the privileged recipients of its action were always the 'sick poor', i.e. the sick without means of their own, whom the Congregation cared for until the birth of the first National Health Service. Duke Ottavio Farnese's initial mistrust of the Jesuits was soon overcome, if already in 1564 the duke imposed on the community - still reluctant to host the followers of Ignatius of Loyola - to take on the indispensable financial burdens to allow them to settle in the city. Having founded the College of St. Roch, he granted his protection to the Community of the 'Daughters of Succour', later called 'Ursulines'. The reform of the school system desired by Ranuccio I Farnese would lead a few decades later to the foundation of the new Athenaeum and the creation of the Ducal College of St. Catherine, the Collegium of the Nobles known to contemporaries as 'the king of all colleges' for the socially exclusive nature of its users and for the breadth of its recruitment, having welcomed, until the expulsion of the Jesuits, around 5,000 boarders. At the beginning of the 17th century, thanks to the recruitment of famous professors, the University of Parma was reborn and, amidst building sites and the succession of ducal proclamations, the city of Parma slowly changed its face.

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Vantaggi

  • Access to the Pharmacy of St. Philip Neri, Historical Archive Room of the Charity's Congregation of Parma and St. Tiburzio Oratory
  • Preferential entrance without queues and guaranteed by booking
  • Assistance service
  • Offer/Donation in favour of Ad Personam included

Timetables

Extended visiting hours: 
daily
at 10.30 a.m., at 2.30 p.m. and at 5 p.m.

Come arrivare

By car:
Parma is served by the A1 Milan-Bologna motorway and the A15 Parma-La Spezia motorway. The SS 9 Via Emilia runs through the entire city centre from east to west, while the SS 62 della Cisa runs south.

By train:
The Parma railway Station is located in the northern part of the city near what is known as Barriera Garibaldi, one of the ancient city gates. It connects the city to the most important national railway routes: the most frequent direct lines of regional and high-speed trains connect Parma to Bologna and Milan, the main exchange stations for other Italian cities and also for the main airports.

Map