Piazzale della Pace, Public square and garden in Parma, Italy.
Piazzale della Pace is a public square and garden in central Parma, set beside Palazzo della Pilotta, combining open lawns with broad paved areas. The square borders Palazzo della Provincia and Palazzo dei Ministri, forming one of the largest open spaces in the city center.
The square took its current form after aerial bombings in 1944 destroyed the Reinach Theater and the neoclassical Ducal Palace that once stood here. The destruction of those buildings opened up the area and led to a complete rethinking of this part of the city.
Stone monuments across the square carry poems by Attilio Bertolucci, dedicated to Joan of Arc and Giacomo Ulivi, woven into the public space. Visitors passing through often stop to read the inscriptions carved directly into the stone.
The square is easy to reach on foot and sits close to most of the main sites in Parma's historic center. Flat paths and open layout make it comfortable to move around for all visitors, with plenty of benches for resting.
The large fountain at the center of the square, designed by architect Mario Botta, stands on the exact spot where the Church of San Pietro Martire once stood before it was demolished during the Napoleonic era. It is rare to find a work of contemporary design placed so deliberately over a site with such a long religious history.
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