'De gustibus ed coloribus non disputandum'.
On the one hand colors influences our mood, on the other hand colors can give some historical information. They are symbols for power, love, danger, wealth, innocence etc. What's the historical background of the color 'Parma Yellow'? And I'am not talking about the famous 'Yellow of Parma', the onion :-).
The houses in most of the Italian cities are usually very colorful. Also in Parma you will find a number of streets that seem to come out from a postcard, with houses painted in various colors.
However, in the historical center of Parma, mostly soft yellow colors are used. You mainly see facades with yellow and ocher shades. Palaces built during the reign of the Farneses already showed a wide range of yellow ochre and clear reds to emphasize their possession of gold and to show off with their wealth. Although the ocher color became even more popular during the Bourbon dynasty. The young architect, Petitot, encouraged the use of yellow - now known as Parma yellow - to emulate the gold of the court. This resulted in a city with mainly yellow buildings and with the effect of a permanent sunny golden glow. You can find a good example of these yellow buildings at Piazza Garibaldi. In the second half of the 18th century, while restoring the most important buildings at Garibaldi square, Petitot started to paint them golden yellow.
The prototype of the typical Parmesan brick can be found on the corner of Piazza Garibaldi and Strada Cavour. According to the legend, the architect Petitot was inspired by the residents of Strada San Michele and Santa Lucia who had painted their houses in the golden yellow like the long curly tresses of Isabella of Bourbon, passing through their streets with her wedding procession.
Napoleon’s second wife, Marie Louise of Austria and Duchess of Parma, also had an extraordinary influence on the yellow color in Parma. In that period she introduced a more darker yellow color.
Some examples: teatro Reggio, il palazzo del governatore, La Villetta cemetery.
Until the end of the 1950s it was even mandatory to paint or build the facades in a yellow color. As a result of this obligation, yellow and its shades are today the prevailing color for the facades of the houses in the historical center.
Even the housestyle of the perfumehouse Acqua di Parma is inspired on the yellow color.
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