Wender·Vista
Parma
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileItaly
in Emilia-Romagna, on the Via Emilia between Bologna and Milan

Parma

— — a city the colour of butter and old gold.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A small Emilian city on the Via Emilia, set among the cheese caves and prosciutto cellars of the Po Valley. Correggio painted the dome of the cathedral here in 1530, and Verdi's Teatro Regio still opens its season in October. The pink baptistery and the ochre piazzas hold their light into late afternoon. People come for the food and stay for the frescoes. — from the studio

from the studio
Parma
— bring it home

Parma, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Parma

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Parma sits in Emilia-Romagna on the Via Emilia, the old Roman road that runs from Piacenza to Rimini, with the Parma stream cutting through the centre. The city is about 100 kilometres southeast of Milan and 95 northwest of Bologna, with a population near 199,000. It was founded as a Roman colony in 183 BC and became the seat of the Duchy of Parma from 1545 until Italian unification. The Apennines rise to the south and the Po River runs about 20 kilometres to the north.

— the stone

The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, consecrated in 1106, holds Correggio's frescoed dome — the Assumption of the Virgin, finished in 1530 and one of the earliest illusionistic ceilings in Italy. Beside it stands the octagonal pink Veronese-marble baptistery designed by Benedetto Antelami in 1196. The Palazzo della Pilotta, begun under Ottavio Farnese in 1583, anchors the western quarter and houses the Teatro Farnese, a wooden Baroque theatre rebuilt after 1944 bombing. The streets between are paved in the same warm ochre brick.

— the year

The food year drives the city. Parmigiano Reggiano wheels are turned daily in the dairies of the surrounding province for at least twelve months before they leave the consortium. Prosciutto di Parma cures eighteen to thirty-six months in the hill towns south of the city, with Langhirano the recognised centre. The Teatro Regio opens its opera season in October with a programme weighted toward Verdi, born in Roncole Verdi 30 kilometres west. The Festival Verdi runs through late September and October.

— where
Italy · Parma, Emilia-Romagna
— elevation
57 m · 187 ft
— position
44.8015° N · 10.3279° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
27 km ESE
Reggio Emilia
Po Valley city
60 km ESE
Modena
Po Valley city
35 km NW
Busseto
Verdi's town
22 km S
Langhirano
prosciutto centre
N
Parma
Reggio Emilia
Modena
Busseto
Langhirano
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Parma — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The Po Valley climate and the whey-fed Large White pigs of the region produced a dairy and curing tradition that became standardised in the Middle Ages. Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma both carry protected designation of origin status.

Antonio Allegri da Correggio painted the Assumption of the Virgin inside the cathedral dome between 1526 and 1530. The work pioneered the illusionistic ceiling techniques later taken up by Baroque painters across Italy.

Through late September and October, with performances staged at the Teatro Regio in Parma and at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Busseto, near the composer's birthplace at Roncole Verdi.

About 95 kilometres northwest by the A1 motorway and the Via Emilia. High-speed Frecciarossa trains link the two cities in around fifty minutes and run several times an hour through the day.

A large Farnese-era palace complex begun in 1583 on the west side of the city. It now holds the National Gallery, the Palatine Library, the Archaeological Museum and the wooden Baroque Teatro Farnese.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The piece carries the colour and architectural texture of the old centre and has been chosen by customers whose family came from Parma, Reggio or the Apennine valleys. A Medium with a handwritten note works well.

It sits naturally in warm Italian-modern, Tuscan-modern and Library-modern rooms. The ochre and old-gold palette pairs with walnut, terracotta tile, cream linen and aged brass. It also lifts a deep red dining wall.

Yes. The current shift toward warm-modern interiors leans on the same sienna, ochre and parchment palette that runs through Emilia. The piece sits well alongside travertine, brass sconces and unbleached linen drapery.

A single Large or a four-tile Mural is the right proportion above a standard sofa. A nine-tile Mural anchors a longer wall above a dining sideboard. A Medium reads well above a narrow entryway console.

Yes. Choose the Dura Satin or Matte finish for installation behind a range, over a sink or in a powder room. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure and resists steam, grease and routine cleaning.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water is enough for the framed Glossy pieces. For kitchen tile installs, a drop of mild dish soap on the cloth removes cooking residue. Avoid abrasive pads and any cleaner with bleach.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio in Knoxville and not licensed from any outside source. Reid Wender curates each place that enters the atlas and approves the artwork before it ships.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.
— a collection

The Italian Dolomites,
painted slow.

The valleys between Cortina and Val Gardena, the tarns you walk an hour to see, the towers that turn the colour of a banked fire just before dark. Wander the collection by valley, by season, or follow the path Reid walked.

Tre Cime
Braies
Misurina
Sorapis
Cinque Torri
Sassolungo
Marmolada