Curious Artifacts

Present in
many rooms are the seventeenth-century chairs, on whose leather back is engraved the coat of
arms of the Congregation: a pelican that cuts his chest open to feed the little
ones with his own blood, symbol of charity and allegory of the extreme
sacrifice of Jesus.

The symbol of the Congregation: the pelican plucking its feathers, symbolizing the figure of Christ.

The two component materials of the chair, namely wood and leather, are joined through large nails. Preserved in excellent condition, this artifact recalls the past history of Parma.

In the room dedicated to
the institution there is a wooden register used to mark the presence at the
meetings of the members, divided into ecclesiasticals and seculars.

The register of the Congregates is, as for the chair, in good condition, without showing too many signs of damage. The care for the protection can be seen in the corolla of leaves.

The left part of the register is dedicated to clerics.

The right side instead is dedicated to the secular clergy.

The names of the Congregation are still visible, perfectly preserved after about four hundred years.

A large mortar, used in the pharmacy, obtained from a upside down bell dating back to
1832 , and equipped with an internal wooden body.

The shape of the old bell, used to be converted to a mortar, is still clearly visible.

Near the stairs leading to the first floor, there is a lottery
machine  of the early nineteenth
century, made by local artisans and also used for the extraction of needy
people. 

The balls of the lotto were contained in the iron sphere. The handle that turns the sphere has also been preserved.

At the bottom, instead, a folder has been saved with the numbers still visible in the individual boxes.

A remarkable piece of
furniture, for workmanship and history, is the seventeenth-century wardrobe
of municipal origin, made by a  local craftsmanship , also known as the
"executioner's cabinet": according to tradition it was used by the
executor of death sentences service of the city public judiciary.

The wardrobe doors have four identical motifs. It could be linked to the coat of arms of some family or it is simply wanted by the creativity of the author.

The reference to the classical past, now completely incorporated in European art, is visible here on the vertical side of the wardrobe.

The upper part of the wardrobe vaguely recalls some architectural resorts. An example is an analogous connection with the architecture painted in the Ariosto Room inside the Ducal Palace.

The detail depicted here seems to take its inspiration from the distant metopes of Greek architecture. The wardrobe is almost as if it were, remotely, a hint of the architecture of the past.

Also interesting
is the work table by the architect Nicolò Bettoli, set up in a
scenographic space with the reproduction of the Argentina Theater in Rome and
the Theater of Naples, sources of inspiration for the local one wanted by Maria
Luigia, visible on the bottom. With elegant functional lines, the table is
equipped with drawers, pull-out shelves and different mechanisms: its height
could be adjusted through a tilting glass top, allowing the drawings to be
traced against the glass. There’s a good chance that Bettoli realized the
projects for the new theater of Parma sitting in front of this table, day and
night.

Here you can see the glass shelf enclosed in the wooden frame, used for the laws or for the scores.

Within this theatrical background, the work table assumes a further sense of importance and solemnity, built to receive the high nobility of Parma.

Among the
curious artifacts there is also the scale model of the monument
inaugurated in 1769 on the current Piazza Garibaldi, on the occasion of the
arrival of Emperor Joseph II of Austria and the wedding of his sister, Maria
Amalia, with Duke Don Ferdinando of Parma. The
monument was intended to remind future generations of the union between Parma
and Austria, and for this reason the title "Ara Amicitae"
("altar dedicated to friendship") was chosen.
The designer was the architect Ennemond-Alexandre Petitot, who had helped
transform the city into a small French capital. The marble monument was pulled
down with the Unification of Italy: during the Risorgimento the Austrians were
considered enemies and one morning on the altar was placed the severed head of
Colonel Anviti, slain by the crowd because loyal to foreigners.

The inscription of peace and union is visible, written in Latin, where the union with Austria is sanctioned.

The work is as if it were composed in two parts. In the upper part, which seems to recall the neck of an amphora, continues the speech to the union, crowned by leaves vegetables in good condition.

The fasces lictoriae, with the right one better preserved, refer to the great past of Rome, almost as if that splendor had been found in the duchy thanks to the union of several peoples.