La Church of Santa Maria di Parma it is also called Church of the Steccata for an interesting story. The church was built between 1521 and 1539 and many inhabitants of the city of Parma are so attached to it that they prefer to come here on Sunday morning to mass rather than go to the Duomo.
The building is built on a Greek cross plan, with arms placed on the cardinal axes and closed by four large symmetrical apses, and between the arms there are four quadrangular chapels which have always been used for worship. It is difficult to establish who is responsible for the detailed authorship of the church project, whose layout recalls the solution conceived by Bramante for Saint Peter's in the Vatican.
One of the things to see absolutely here is the under the arch of Parmigianino, the one you find on the opposite side of you, at the top, under the central dome. If you can't see it, try asking or getting a church guide. Among other things you will notice it for the liveliness of colors compared to the others.
But let's come to one of the most interesting things about this Church, its name. Not everyone knows the reason for the name “Steccata”. The church dedicated to the Virgin was the church where at the end of the fifteenth century the image of one appeared on the wall Madonna nursing the Child. The image that is still present in the Church began to be worshiped by the faithful who prayed for milk to give to the baby or to have healthy babies. The women who crowded the Church every day were so many that one had to be placed fence to protect the work.
