The sarcophagus of the seasons
This slab used to belong to a great “sarcophagus of the seasons” dating to the third century AD. The figure represents autumn. On the back an inscription refers to the relics of the main altar of the Cathedral (Abdon and Sennen, Nicomedes, Herculaneum and Pudentiana, brought to Parma from Rome in 892 by the Frank Bishop Vibodo).
The altar
These two slabs are in Greek marble, with a cross between two columns resting on a globe. In the middle there must have been a third slab with a niche for the saints’ relics. It is an altar front of the Ravenna school, possibly belonging to the first cathedral, which dates back to the second half of the 6th century. a time when Parma was politically Byzantine. The birds shown feeding on berries in the upper part of the slab are a eucharistic symbol.
The capitals
These large capitals with basic decoration traces dating to the beginning of the tenth century may also have belonged to the Longobard Cathedral.
