The Parco Ducale in Parma is a green island at the heart of the city, commonly called ‘the Garden’. A place for get-togethers and recreation, it is a centuries-old institution.
The Garden saw my first steps and was a fascinating destination for the many spring afternoons of my childhood and adolescence. With its hard benches, it was the stage for the endless discussions, plans and dreams that mark one’s path to adulthood.
During my many years away from Italy, I rarely returned to the Garden. Recently, in the twilight of a late autumn day, I found myself walking along its old paths, savouring again – in corners that have remained so familiar – the same sense of peace, and reliving old emotions. In the muffled silence of the early evening, the mist among the now bare branches carried the echoes of so many seasons past.
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