After belatedly recording their first win on the season the week before, the Italian outfit hosted Cardiff Blues on Saturday and dished out a chastening defeat.
Never before had Zebre picked up a full five points in a GUINNESS PRO12 game but, thanks to Dries van Schalkwyk's double and tries from Johan Meyer and Kayle van Zyl, that is no longer the case.
And man-of-the-match Carlo Canna - back from his Rugby World Cup exploits with Italy - added three conversions as Zebre shot up to ninth in the table, above the Blues.
Their nine-point tally is equal to that of Newport Gwent Dragons, who were the latest side to be toppled by the all-conquering Scarlets.
Wayne Pivac celebrated signing a new contract at Parc y Scarlets last week with a 25-15 victory on home soil, making it six wins in as many GUINNESS PRO12 games this season.
There were two tries apiece for Phil John and James Davies as the hosts collected maximum points to stay one point clear of the chasing pack.
That pack is led by Connacht, who preserved their bright start to the season by welcoming Edinburgh to the Sportsground and inflicting their second consecutive defeat.
Tiernan O'Halloran scored the game's only try and it proved to be the difference on the day, with Jack Carty's boot keeping the visitors at bay in the second half.
Leinster moved into the top four on Sunday with a 27-3 victory at Benetton Treviso, leaving the Italians still in search of a win this season.
Treviso had collected four losing bonus points in their opening five games but they never looked like adding another as Isa Nacewa, Jack McGrath, Jack Conan and Ben Te'o each crossed over for Leinster, while Jonathan Sexton made his first appearance for the province since 2013.
They join fellow Irish province Munster inside the play-off spots after Anthony Foley's side edged a thrilling derby clash on Friday night.
Ulster were the visitors to Thomond Park and Craig Gilroy's try double ensured they were well in the contest but eventually they had to settle for just a losing bonus.
Scrum-half Tomas O'Leary pulled the strings for Munster, while five different try-scorers got them over the line.
And Glasgow Warriors took home the full five points from their clash with Ospreys, thanks to Taqele Naiyaravoro's late try.
The powerful winger added to scores from Greg Peterson, Alex Allan and Sean Lamont as the Ospreys dropped down to 11th in the GUINNESS PRO12 table.
TRY OF THE WEEKEND
The Scarlets are exuding confidence right now and it showed in their second try - Phil John's first - against Newport Gwent Dragons.
It was like something out of a game of rugby sevens, rapid off-loading and a man on everyone's shoulder as the league leaders rumbled their way into the Dragons' half.
And, after just about everyone in the team had played their part in the build-up, it was fitting that the unlikeliest of finishers - loosehead prop John - was on the end of it.
BREAK OF THE WEEKEND
Tiernan O'Halloran's try earned Connacht an important win on Saturday and the score was conjured up by a suitably eye-catching midfield move.
Off the back of a halfway-line maul, the ball found fly-half Jack Carty - with Edinburgh's rush defence putting him under immediate pressure.
What the Scots hadn't expected, though, was Matt Healy to be darting up on Carty's inside. A neat off-load allowed the winger to tear his way into Edinburgh territory and find O'Halloran to score.
PLAY OF THE WEEKEND
The excellent work from Ulster centre pair Stuart McCloskey and Darren Cave to set up Craig Gilroy's first try is a contender here, but that duo were outdone later in the afternoon.
And the man who achieved that was Simon Zebo, the Ireland flyer conjuring up a magical piece of skill in the build-up to Robin Copeland's try.
Collecting the ball near the Ulster 22, Zebo appeared to have hit a brick wall - but he danced his way between two defenders, with the help of a clever dummy, to create a vital opening.
PLAYER OF THE WEEKEND
Zebre are a side moving in the right direction and with their army of Italy internationals back in Parma, they look a real threat.
Victory over Edinburgh was a start but a bonus-point win over Cardiff Blues has sent out a message and Carlo Canna was at the heart of it.
The fly-half pulled the strings for an enterprising Zebre side and his chip kick for Johan Meyer's try was a particular highlight.
To buy tickets for the GUINNESS PRO12 Grand Final click here. Also follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12.
63x46.png){kind=logo}