The guided tour of Reggio Emilia, famous for its Parmigiano Reggiano, will take you to discover its elegant historic center with squares, streets and churches full of masterpieces of Italian art. It starts with a visit to the Basilica della Ghiara, a small museum that is one of the jewels of the town, built in the 1500s and where the miraculous image of the Madonna is venerated. The beauty of this church amazes visitors with the splendid cloister and Guercino's painting “The Crucifixion of Christ”, a true masterpiece of art.
We arrive in Piazza Grande which contains the religious and political power of Reggio Emilia with the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Town Hall, the Bordello Tower and the Palace of the Monte di Pietà with the Clock Tower. We visit the Cathedral rebuilt in the 1500s and with its characteristic unfinished facade where the tower with the statue of the Madonna and Child shines in the center; inside the precious chapels adorn the church and the most admired is the Fiordibelli Chapel with a painting by Guercino. Next to the Cathedral we discover the Baptistery of San Giovanni with the Renaissance facade, the baptismal font and the fresco of the Baptism of Christ.
The guided tour continues along the historic Vicolo Broletto from the end of the 15th century with its arcades and typical shops, where we arrive at the Town Hall and the Tricolor Museum with documents and relics of the Italian flag, and the Sala del Tricolore where the historic flag is displayed. which since 1848 has become the national tricolor. A few steps away we visit the beautiful Basilica of S. Prospero with the remains of the patron saint of Reggio Emilia and the imposing facade with the statues of the saints and six large red marble lions; inside we can admire one of the most beautiful fresco cycles in Italy, the Last Judgment by the painter Procaccini.
Walking through the streets of the historic center, we move to the area dedicated to theaters with the majestic complex that houses the Teatro Valli, where the great tenor Luciano Pavarotti made his debut, with an elegant Doric portico with twelve columns and the tricolor fountain. The guided tour ends by discovering the small streets of the Jewish Ghetto of Reggio Emilia with the typical colors and atmospheres of the past and where set in the pavement we can find the “stumbling blocks” in memory of the victims of the Holocaust who lived in that neighborhood.