Parma: Verdi’s birthplace at Roncole Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi was born in Roncole Verdi, a small place near Busseto (Parma). It was 1813, but his house was more ancient, built in the 1700s at least. It was a modest but important home, an inn whose his father was the innkeeper.

This is where Verdi unleashed his first cry, his first high note!

This is where bel canto was born, litteraly.

 

Cover pic courtesy of Flickr user Ib Aarmo

Video full text: Verdi’s Birthplace

Speaking of the land
This is the land where Giuseppe Verdi was raised
Here, in this house in Roncole Verdi, Giuseppe Verdi was born
There’s even a plaque, it was on 10 October 1813
I bet it was raining on that day, too!
Here we are, Verdi’s birthplace
It was built in the 1700s
It was a modest home, but an important one—it was an inn
Verdi’s father was an innkeeper
His mother, on the other hand, cultivated silkworms. She spun the thread.
And she was an excellent cook
She cooked for the inn
The furnishings are not the original ones, but they are typical of that era
These eggs are not the original ones … but this is exactly how things were back then
It gives you an idea! This was the kitchen
This is the hearth, this is important and it is original
A food-warmer: they put the embers from the fireplace under here
Then over them the pots to be warmed and they prepared food for their customers
Who ate here, in the dining room
And from the inn’s dining room we go upstairs to where Verdi was born
Here, this is the bedroom of Verdi’s parents
Giuseppe was born in this bed
It’s not the exact bed, but the room is …
This is where Verdi unleashed his first cry, his first high note!
This is were bel canto was born!
This is Verdi’s bedroom as a child, where he practised music
But, above all, from the window, he kept an eye on the barn
The heart of the home, that was an inn, a post-stage
Here arriving carriages could change horses
There were cows, pigs, chickens
Here, young Verdi began to breathe in the air of the land!

The house did not belong to the Verdi family, it belonged to the marquises of Pallavicino
When he became famous, Verdi wanted to buy it
To raze it to the ground, so that no one would ever come again to see “the Maestro’s house”.
But the Pallavicinos wanted to preserve it because he had become famous and important
As a historic site
To get his revenge on the Pallavicinos when they had become poor
Verdi bought their entire estate. He took their statues
And scattered them willy-nilly in the grounds …
Verdi, what a hard-headed guy …