Parma National Gallery

About

The collection of the Galleria Nazionale di Parma originated with the Accademia di Belle Arti founded by Duke Filippo I in 1752, and the gallery itself opened inside the Palazzo della Pilotta in 1760. Its foundation lies in works amassed during the Renaissance by the Farnese family, including Pope Paul III and Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. In 1734, Carlo di Borbone moved many works to Naples, but Filippo I banned the export of masterpieces such as Correggio's Madonna di San Girolamo (known as "Il Giorno"). During the French occupation from 1803 to 1814, part of the collection was taken to Paris and only partially returned in 1816. Today the gallery holds works by Correggio, Parmigianino's Turkish Slave, Sebastiano del Piombo's Portrait of Pope Paul III, and El Greco's Healing of the Blind, and since 1839 has also displayed Leonardo da Vinci's La Scapigliata, painted around 1492-1501.