nouncing the Mass led to the first persecution of French
Protestants (HUGUENOTS). Although French Protestants
held their first synod in Paris (1559), later in the century
it was the scene of the MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW
(1572) and the bastion of the Catholic League and the
GUISE FAMILY. By the time Paris finally accepted HENRY IV
as its king (1594) its population had dropped to about
180,000.
Notable landmarks that have survived from the pe-
riod of the Renaissance include the LOUVREand the Pont-
Neuf (1599–1604).
Further reading: David Thomson, Renaissance Paris:
Architecture and Growth 1475–1600 (Berkeley, Calif.: Uni-
versity of California Press, 1985).
Parker, Matthew (1504–1575) English clergyman and
scholar
Born at Norwich and educated at Cambridge, Parker was
ordained in 1527 and rose in the ecclesiastical hierarchy to
become chaplain to Anne Boleyn in 1535. During the
reign of the Catholic Mary I (1553–58) he found it neces-
sary to retire into private life, but under ELIZABETH Ihe
was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury (1559). In this
role he staunchly defended the moderate character of the
Church of England against Puritan extremism. Parker was
also a scholar of note, being particularly concerned with
the collection and preservation of the many medieval doc-
uments released by the DISSOLUTION OF THE MONASTERIES.
Some of these he edited and published, such as the chron-
icle of Matthew Paris (1571), while others formed the
basis for his De antiquitate ecclesiae (1572), in which he
contentiously tried to trace the roots of the ELIZABETHAN
SETTLEMENTof the church back to St. Augustine.
Parma A city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern
Italy. Parma was originally Etruscan, then Roman, and
emerged in the late Middle Ages as an independent com-
mune. Threatened by Milan and Verona and weakened by
rivalry between the Correggio and Rossi families, Parma
enjoyed only short spells of independence before long pe-
riods of subjection to Milan (1346–1447, 1450–1500).
Under both the VISCONTIand SFORZA rulers of Milan
Parma was allowed a good measure of self-government.
During the wars of Italy Parma was subject in turn to
France (1500–12), the papacy (1515–15), France (1515–
20), and the papacy again (1520–45). In 1545 Pope PAUL
IIImade Parma and Piacenza into a duchy for his illegiti-
mate son, Pierluigi Farnese. The FARNESE, who made the
ducal court a center of arts and learning, ruled Parma until
the 18th century.
Although its population was modest (about 15,000 in
1500), Parma prospered on account of local agriculture
and the woolen industry. It boasted two great 16th-
century artists: CORREGGIOand PARMIGIANINO. Notable
churches that have survived from the period of the Re-
naissance include San Giovanni Evangelista (rebuilt
1498–1510), with frescoes by Correggio and Parmigian-
ino, the baroque SS. Annunziata (1566), and the church of
Sta. Maria della Steccata, reputedly built (1521–39) to
BRAMANTE’s original plan for St. Peter’s, Rome. Secular
buildings include the Palazzo Ducale (1564) and the un-
finished Palazzo della Pilotta (begun 1583), which housed
the wooden Teatro Farnese (built 1618–28) designed by
Giovanni Battista Aleotti.Parmigianino, Il (Francesco Mazzola) (1503–1540)
Italian painter and graphic artist
In the early 1520s he was already executing commissions
for frescoes in the cathedral in Parma, his birthplace and
the city after which he was named, and in the church of
San Giovanni Evangelista, where CORREGGIOwas also
working. Although Parmigianino’s personal mannerist
style was already established, his work was influenced by
Correggio and later by the painting of PORDENONE,
RAPHAEL, and MICHELANGELO. Around 1523 he left for
Rome, where he appears to have concentrated on graphic
arts, particularly etching. He was one of the first artists to
produce original etchings from his own designs, and
these, which were widely distributed, together with repro-
ductions of his paintings in engravings and woodcuts,
helped to increase the extent of his influence in Italy and
the rest of Europe.
At the Sack of Rome (1527), Parmigianino was cap-
tured, but he soon escaped to Bologna. He began to ex-
periment with the use of landscape as a background and
his work influenced Niccolò dell’ ABBATE. After visiting
Verona and Venice he spent the 1530s in Parma. To this
period belongs the well-known Madonna dal collo lungo
(Uffizi, Florence), one of the most extreme examples of
Parmigianino’s mannerist elongation of limbs, particularly,
in this case, of the neck and hands (see illustration p.
298). His main commission during these years was a se-
ries of frescoes in Sta. Maria della Steccata but so little of
it was completed that he was imprisoned briefly in 1539
for breach of contract. According to VASARIhe had by this
time undergone a change of personality from an amiable
and elegant person to a long-haired, untidy, and almost
savage man. The following year Parmigianino’s short ca-
reer came to an end in Casalmaggiore. As well as the types
of work already mentioned he also left behind him a num-
ber of portraits, such as the self-portrait in a mirror (1521;
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) and the portrait of a
woman (Museo di Capodimonte, Naples), probably his
mistress, Antea “La Bella”; many of these convey a sense
of deep spiritual insight. See Plate XI.
Further reading: Cecil Hilton Monk Gould, Parmi-
gianino (New York: Abbeville, 1995).PPaarrmmiiggiiaanniinnoo,, IIll 3 36611