Parma

Parma (Pärma in Parmesan dialect) is an Italian town of 199 936 inhabitants, the capital of the province of the same name and the second largest city in Emilia-Romagna by population after the regional capital Bologna.

Ancient capital of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (1545-1859), the city of Parma has been a university seat since the 11th century. It is also the seat since 2002 of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA); from 1956 of the Magistrato per il Po, now the Interregional Agency for the Po River (AIPO); since 1990 of the Po River District Basin Authority (AdbPo); and since 1994 of a Scientific Investigations Department (RIS) of the Carabinieri, with expertise in northern Italy. Crédit Agricole Italia is also based there, resulting from the acquisition of Cassa di Risparmio di Parma and Piacenza.

The Verdi Festival is held every year in October. In December 2015 Parma received the recognition of "UNESCO Creative City for Gastronomy".

The name of Parma is also linked to some cities in the United States of America, among which the best known is the one located in the state of Ohio, a short distance from Cleveland; originally called Greenbrier, the town was renamed in 1826 on the proposal of the doctor David Long, who during his visit to the Emilian dukedom was "impressed by the size and beauty" of the Italian city.

The city was nominated on February 16, 2018 the Italian capital of culture for the year 2020; on 12 March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the organization to officially suspend the exhibition until a later date and to cancel or postpone most of the scheduled events; later, with the Relaunch decree approved by the Council of Ministers on the following 13 May, the title was also conferred for 2021.

 

How to orient yourself

Neighborhoods
The district districts are: 1st Parma Centro; 2nd Oltretorrente; 3rd Windlass; 4th Pablo; 5th Golese; 6th San Pancrazio; 7th San Leonardo; 8th San Martino Courtyard; 9^ Ljubljana; 10th San Lazzaro; 11th Citadel; 12th Montanara; 13th Vigatto.

Regions
The municipal territory of the city includes numerous small inhabited centres: Alberi, Baccanelli, Baganzola, Baganzolino, Beneceto, Botteghino, Carignano, Carpaneto, Cartiera, Casagnola, Casalbaroncolo, Casarola di Ravadese, Case Capelli, Case Cocconi, Case Crostolo, Case Nuove, Case Rosse, Case Vecchie, Casino dalla Rosa, Castelletto, Castelnovo, Ca' Terzi, Cervara, Chiozzola, Coloreto, Coltaro, Corcagnano, Eia, Fognano, Fontana, Fontanini, Gaione, Ghiaiata Nuova, Il Moro, La Catena, La Palazzina, Malandriano , Marano, Mariano, Marore, Martorano, Molino di Malandriano, Osteria San Martino, Panocchia, Paradigna, Pedrignano, Pilastrello, Pizzolese, Ponte, Porporano, Pozzetto Piccolo, Quercioli, Ravadese, Ronco Pascolo, Rosa, San Donato, San Pancrazio, San Prospero Parmense, San Ruffino, Scarzara, Ugozzolo, Valera, Viarolo, Viazza, Vicofertile, Vicomero, Vicopò, Vigatto, Vigheffio, Vigolante.

 

Getting here

By plane
Giuseppe Verdi Airport (IATA: PMF), located about 3 km north-west of the city center along state road 9 Via Emilia in the Golese district, can be reached by urban line bus No. 6 (4 km .) from 6.30 to 20.00 and by car with the north ring road SS 9.

Other stopovers:
Bologna Marconi Airport
Catullo Airport of Verona
Caravaggio Airport of Orio al Serio (BG)
Milan-Linate airport
Milan-Malpensa Airport

By car
Parma motorway exit, on the A1
A15 motorway Parma Ovest motorway exit on the Cisa Parma - La Spezia motorway

On the train
Parma railway station, Piazza C.A. Dalla Chiesa, 11. On the Milan-Bologna line.

By bus
Troiolo Bus, Corso Garibaldi, 185 - Siderno, ☎ +39 0964 381325, fax: +39 0964 381325, info@troiolobus.com. The company allows the direct connection of Parma with Africo, Ardore, Badolato, Bianco, Bovalino, Brancaleone, Catanzaro, Catanzaro Lido, Caulonia, Davoli, Guardavalle, Isca sull'Ionio, Lamezia Terme, Locri, Marina di Gioiosa Ionica, Monasterace, Montepaone, Polistena, Riace, Roccella Jonica, Rosarno, Sant'Andrea Apostolo dello Jonio, Santa Caterina, Siderno, Soverato, Squillace, Taurianova and Vibo Valentia; not all connections are daily.

 

Getting around

By public transport
The urban bus lines are managed by TEP.

Urban transport services are well managed and sufficiently widespread. The cost of the urban ticket is currently (2023) 1.60 Euros if purchased at an authorized resale, if purchased in the car only by credit card without a surcharge, tickets are valid for 80 minutes from the moment of validation and must be validated at each bus change.

Those arriving by train and needing information on how to reach a specific place by bus will find one of the various TEP information points on the right when exiting the station.

Also on the TEP website it is possible to find information on the "Pronto Bus" call service, which operates in the evening and at night.

By taxi
The taxi service is efficient but, given the small size of the city, it is not always convenient; the main places to find a taxi are the train station, the city airport and piazza Garibaldi (the central square of the city).

By car
Parma offers numerous paid parking lots, mainly located in the areas surrounding the historic center and the major hospital; these car parks have no time limits but have a rather high cost. Those who want to leave their vehicle in the parking areas come up against the relative scarcity of places and the presence of blue lines, areas where parking is allowed but for a fee, with a cost ranging from 0.90 Euros to 1 .50 Euros per hour; in these areas parking has a limited duration, the closer you get to the centre, the shorter the allowed parking is and varies from 30 minutes to 2 hours. When parking in the areas of the historic centre, it is advisable to pay particular attention to the parking areas marked with white and blue lines, they indicate paid places during the day (generally from 8:00 to 20:00) and for the exclusive use of residents with a permit overnight. Attention: the White and Blue lines during the evening and night time slot are reserved for residents.

In addition to the parking meters, you can use the EasyPark and Tap&Park apps.

Exchange car parks
To encourage the use of public transport, park-and-ride car parks have been created on the four main access roads to the city (On via Emilia Est, Via Emilia Ovest, Strada Asolana/Via Europa and Via Langhirano); by parking in these spaces and paying 3.60 Euros (2023) per person, you have the possibility of using public transport for the whole day without additional costs, making sure, however, that you always have the ticket issued at the car park with you.

2 South-east car park, via Traversetolo (exit 17 of the ring road). free. 00:00-24:00. It is served by lines 8 and 11.
3 South parking, via Langhirano (near the university campus roundabout, exit 15 of the ring road). free. 00:00-24:00. It is served by line 21 on weekdays and line 7 on public holidays.
4 North car park (near the tollbooth of the A1 motorway, exit 6 of the ring road). free. 00:00-24:00. It is served by lines 1 and 7
5 West car park (on via Emilia, near the intersection with the ring road, exit 10). free. 00:00-24:00. It is served by line 23 on weekdays and line 3 on public holidays
6 East parking (near the Ex-Salamini district, exit 19 of the ring road). free. 00:00-24:00. It is served by line 23 on weekdays and line 3 on public holidays
7 Villetta cemetery parking (exit 13 of the ring road). With an automatic ticket machine in viale Villetta/corner of via Stirone, it is connected to the city center with line 1
8 Palasport car park, Largo Beccaria (exit 12 of the ring road). It is served by line 5
9 Cavagnari parking (exit 12 of the ring road). It is connected to the center with line 6

Covered parking
10 DUS, Viale Mentana, 99/a (adjacent to the "Casa della Salute" clinic, 10 minutes on foot from the train station, 10 minutes on foot from Piazza Garibaldi.). 1 hour €1.20, all day €12.00 (April 2023). Mon-Sun 00:00-24:00. 3-storey car park, one of which is open-air, with video surveillance service. It is possible to use the Parma Bike Sharing bicycles positioned at the exit of the car park.

11 Fleming, Via Abbeveratoia, 63 (immediate vicinity of the Ospedale Maggiore, INAIL and ASCOM). 1 hour €1.10, daily €11 (April 2023). Mon-Sun 6am-10pm. Parma Bike Sharing station in via Abbeveratoia 4A, about 400 meters away from the car park.
12 Abbeveratoia, Strada Abbeveratoia, 4/1 (in the immediate vicinity of the Ospedale Maggiore), ☏ +39 0521 235953, +39 3466441926, pr.parmapark@apcoa.it. from €1.30 per hour to €8.00 per day. Mon-Sun 00:00-24:00. Multi-storey car park, 10 spaces reserved for the disabled, video surveillance service, parking payment with Telepass, automatic pay station, cash and credit cards. A Parma Bike Sharing station is available at number 4A
13 Central Parking Repubblica, Largo Paul Harris (at the "La Galleria" shopping arcade, near Via Repubblica), ☎ +39 0521235953, +39 3466741926, pr.parmapark@apcoa.it. from €1.90 per hour to €10.00 per day (April 2023). Mon-Sun 00:00-24:00. Spaces reserved for the disabled, parking payment with Telepass, automatic tills, cash and credit cards, video surveillance service. It is possible to use the Parma Bike Sharing bicycles located near the car park. The historic center can be reached in a few minutes by bus or on foot.
14 Goito, Via Goito, 1/a (located a few minutes walk from Piazza Garibaldi, behind Teatro Due.), ☎ +39 0521235953, +39 3466741926, pr.parmapark@apcoa.it. from €2.00 for the first hour to €14.00 per day (April 2023). Mon-Sun 00:00-24:00. 2-storey car park, 8 spaces reserved for the disabled, video surveillance service, parking payment with Telepass, automatic pay station, cash and credit cards. It is possible to use the Parma Bike Sharing bicycles positioned at the exit of the car park.
15 Toschi, Viale Toschi Paolo, 2/g (located along the Parma stream, about 5 minutes' walk from the train station and opposite Palazzo della Pilotta.), ☎ +39 0521235953, +39 3466741926, pr.parmapark@apcoa .it. from €2.00 for the first hour to €14.00 per day (April 2023). Mon-Sun 00:00-24:00. 2-storey car park, 6/7 spaces reserved for the disabled, video surveillance service, parking payment with Telepass, automatic pay station, credit cards and cash. It is possible to collect the Parma Bike Sharing bicycles positioned at the car park exit.
16 Kennedy, Via J. F. Kennedy 4/A (10 minutes on foot from Piazza Garibaldi), ☎ +39 0521235953. from €1.80 per hour to €11.00 per day (April 2023). Mon-Sun 00:00-24:00. Parking payment with Telepass, automatic tills, cash and credit cards, video surveillance service. It is possible to pick up the Parma Bike Sharing bicycles positioned at the exit of the car park.
17 Station, Via Villa Sant'Angelo - side Viale Europa (near the train station), ☎ +39 0382 469293, parma@lineservizi.it. 1 hour € 1.40, 24 hours € 10.00 (April 2023). Entry from 4:30 to 22:30, exit from 00 to 24. The car park is equipped with an automatic system based on the recognition of the vehicle's license plate, which does not require the use of tickets for entry and exit. The payment of the toll must be made, before picking up the car, at the automatic cash machines by typing in the number of the license plate.
18 Fratti Duc, Largo Torello de Strada, 11 (in the immediate vicinity of the DUC, 10 minutes on foot from Piazza Garibaldi), ☏ +39 0521609309, claudio.sanzo@bonatti.it. 1 hour €2, day €10 (April 2023). Entry from 5:30 to 23, exit from 00 to 24. Car park on 4 floors, the top of which is open-air, 8 spaces reserved for the disabled, payment for stops with automatic pay station by cash, ATM and credit cards, equipped with cameras closed circuit. It is possible to use the Bike Sharing bicycles positioned at the exit of the car park.
19 Ghiaia, Via Pigorini (5 minutes on foot from Piazza Garibaldi), ☎ +39 0521609309, claudio.sanzo@bonatti.it. 1 hour €2, 24 hours €16 (April 2023). Entry from 6 to 24, exit from 00 to 24. The car park is located within the ZTL. Thanks to the license plate detection system, cars not authorized to transit in the center will be allowed to freely access the car park. For those who do not already have a valid pass, entry into the ZTL will be allowed only if the car park is actually used and only to access the car park. Access to the car park will be regulated by a special light signal positioned on the roundabout between the Verdi bridge and the beginning of viale Mariotti, which will indicate whether the car park is "free" or "occupied". In the vicinity of the signal, cars will be able to proceed in the direction of the car park and access it only in the event of a "free" light signal.

By bike
Parmesans love getting around by bicycle, for those who visit the city and want to enjoy the numerous cycle paths and roads closed to traffic on two wheels, there is a bicycle rental service: La Cicletteria, next to the railway station (entrance from piazzale Dalla Chiesa ) allows the rental of various types of bicycles starting from € 1.50 for 1h.

 

Monuments and places of interest

Religious architecture

The main religious monuments for which the city is known are located near Piazza Duomo: the Cathedral, consecrated in 1106, which, considered among the greatest works of Romanesque architecture in Italy, preserves the Deposition from the cross, a bas-relief from 1178 by Benedetto Antelami, in addition to the important Renaissance frescoes of the dome, by Correggio, and of the three naves; the Baptistery of Antelami, consecrated in 1270, which, entirely covered in pink Verona marble, is enriched by frescoes and sculptures dating back to the XIII and XIV centuries; the Renaissance abbey of San Giovanni Evangelista, in whose large complex you can admire the church with a late Mannerist marble facade by Simone Moschino, internally rich in Renaissance frescoes, including the famous dome painted by Correggio, the library with its grotesque frescoes and the map of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza and the ancient apothecary, consisting of four rooms still containing the furnishings of the time.

Not far away are also the monastery of San Paolo, whose Chamber of the Badessa has an umbrella vault entirely frescoed by Correggio, and the basilica of Santa Maria della Steccata, which, considered one of the most significant examples in Italy of churches with a central plan from the first half of the 16th century, it contains remarkable Renaissance frescoes, including the Three Wise Virgins and Three Foolish Virgins, a masterpiece created by Parmigianino.

Also a few steps from Piazza Duomo is the church of San Francesco del Prato, the largest in the city, with the adjacent small oratory of the Immacolata Concezione; dating back to the 13th century and in pure Franciscan Gothic style, at the beginning of the 19th century it was deconsecrated and transformed into a men's prison, but in 2021 it was renovated and reopened for worship.

Also noteworthy are: the neoclassical church of San Pietro Apostolo, by Petitot; the Baroque church of San Vitale, with the spectacular Beccaria Monument; the baroque church of Sant'Antonio Abate designed by Ferdinando Galli da Bibbiena; the ancient church of San Sepolcro; the Gothic former church of Santa Maria del Carmine; the small church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, rich in frescoes.

In the Oltretorrente district stands the monumental church of Santissima Annunziata by Giovan Battista Fornovo, considered one of the most significant monuments of experimental Mannerism of the second half of the 16th century, with an unusual elliptical plan with ten apses arranged in a radial pattern.

Not far away are also: the small baroque church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, with frescoes by Sebastiano Galeotti; the oratory of Sant'Ilario inside the Ospedale Vecchio, dedicated to the city's patron saint; the former church of San Francesco di Paola, of which only the Baroque façade is still preserved, surrounded by two towers called "dei Paolotti"; the Romanesque church of Santa Croce; the Baroque church of Santa Maria del Quartiere by Giovan Battista Aleotti, characterized by the large dome with magnificent frescoes of Paradise by Pier Antonio Bernabei.

Outside the urban area there are two notable monastic complexes: the abbey of Valserena (also known as "Certosa di Paradigna"), today the seat of the Study Center and Communication Archive, whose imposing church preserves the Lombard Gothic-style interior ; the Charterhouse of San Girolamo (also known as "Certosa di Parma"), today the headquarters of the School of Training and Update of the Penitentiary Police, which still preserves important works of art.

Finally, in the hamlets the following are worthy of note: the parish church of San Pancrazio in San Pancrazio Parmense, which preserves columns and capitals from the Roman and Romanesque periods; the Romanesque parish church of San Geminiano in Vicofertile, which maintains the original figured capitals dating back to the 12th-13th century and a medieval baptismal font; the Romanesque parish church of Santi Ippolito e Cassiano in Gaione, which contains important archaeological finds.

 

Military architectures

The main military building preserved in the city is the Citadel, an imposing pentagonal fortress today in the center of the district of the same name; built at the end of the 16th century by Smeraldo Smeraldi at the behest of Duke Alessandro Farnese, its main entrance is framed by a monumental facade in Carrara marble designed in 1596 by Simone Moschino; once the original defensive functions ceased, after the Second World War it was transformed into a large public park, much frequented by the citizens of Parma.

In the city there is also the small Torrione Visconteo, located in front of the Palazzo della Pilotta on the opposite side of the stream; it was built by Bernabò Visconti in the 14th century.

As for the city walls, Parma was surrounded by walls for millennia, modified and expanded over the centuries; however, in the very first years of the 20th century it was decided to demolish the entire wall, of which only a few partial traces and two of the five Gates are preserved: the ancient Porta San Francesco at the end of strada Nino Bixio, flanked since 1866 by the monumental Barriera Bixio; the elegant Farnese building of the Renaissance Porta Santa Croce on the side of the homonymous square. No traces of Porta San Barnaba at the Garibaldi barrier remain, while the Farnese facade of Porta San Michele at the Repubblica barrier and the Bourbon coat of arms that surmounted the facade of Porta Nuova at the Farini barrier are preserved in the Cortile della Rocchetta of the Palazzo della Pilotta.

In the hamlets there are also some fortified architectures, testifying to the numerous defensive structures that dotted the area in the Middle Ages; among them there are the Baganzola tower, the Beneceto tower, the Vicomero tower, the Alberi tower and the castle of Panocchia.

 

Civil architectures

Palaces
The main city palaces were built in the centuries in which Parma was the capital of the Duchy. Among them, the enormous monumental complex of Palazzo della Pilotta stands out in terms of importance, built for the Farnese dukes starting in 1580 as a container for all the services of the Court and the State; it is accessed through an imposing scissor staircase covered by a dome designed by Simone Moschino; today it houses the National Gallery of Parma, the Farnese Theater, the National Archaeological Museum of Parma, the Palatine Library, the Bodoniano Museum and the Paolo Toschi Art Institute.

In the same piazzale della Pace, in addition to the neoclassical Palazzo della Provincia and Palazzo dei Ministries, there is also the Palazzo di Riserva, built starting from 1673, which today presents itself with the characteristic facades in the Louis XV style to the north and west, next to the neoclassical wing designed by Petitot, now home to the Glauco Lombardi museum; rib of the building is the Palazzo delle Poste, in pure Art Nouveau style.

Beyond the Parma stream, inside the Ducal Park is the Palazzo del Giardino, a court building built in 1561 to a design by Vignola and still today rich in important seventeenth-century frescoes and stuccos; in the same park there is also the Renaissance Palazzetto Eucherio Sanvitale, which preserves inside fragments of a fresco by Parmigianino. Not far away is the enormous monumental building of the Ospedale Vecchio, a rare example of hospital architecture from the Renaissance period.

In the central Piazza Garibaldi, the seat of municipal power in medieval times, there are still today various buildings that bear witness to this: the Renaissance Palazzo del Comune, containing numerous valuable works and the current headquarters of the city's municipal administration; the Palazzo del Podestà, an offshoot of the previous one, characterized by elegant medieval three-mullioned windows; the old Governor's palace, renovated in neoclassical style by Petitot and today a permanent exhibition center for modern and contemporary art. Next to the neoclassical church of San Pietro Apostolo, there is also the neo-Renaissance building of the Cassa di Risparmio with the annexed former building of the Chamber of Commerce, with the valuable Art Nouveau and Deco rooms.

Moving to Piazza Duomo, stands the Episcopal Palace, an ancient bishop's residence characterized by thirteenth-century three-mullioned windows and Renaissance loggias, still today the seat of the diocese of Parma and the diocesan museum; nearby is also the major Seminary, which retains the Renaissance structure of the portico with loggia above the facade, closed in the 19th century.

Among the ancient public buildings of the city, the following are also worthy of note: the University building, an imposing 16th-century building, the current headquarters of the University of Parma; the baroque Palazzo delle Orsuline; the Palace of the Court; the neo-Renaissance Palazzo Ape Museum; the neoclassical Palazzo Imperiale dell'Arena, a large building full of important frescoes and seat of the Maria Luigia National Boarding School; the eighteenth-century Palazzo delle Carrozze, seat of the language unit of the University of Parma; the elegant Casinetto Petitot, one of the first elegant Italian cafés built in the neoclassical era; the imposing Palazzo Giordani, in Art Nouveau style, seat of the offices of the Province of Parma; the neo-Gothic minor Seminary; the Mother House of the Xaverian Missionaries, seat of the Museum of Chinese Art and Ethnography.

Finally, in the city there are numerous prestigious noble palaces: the eighteenth-century Palazzo Dalla Rosa Prati; the imposing Palazzo Sanvitale, now home to the Amedeo Bocchi museum; the Renaissance Palazzo Cusani, current seat of the Casa della Musica; Palazzo Tirelli, characterized by large Renaissance terracotta windows; the neoclassical Palazzo Dazzi; the baroque Palazzo Rangoni Farnese, with the imposing portal made up of two pseudo telamons that support the balcony, today the seat of the Prefecture; the eighteenth-century Palazzo Marchi, with a faux ashlar facade; Palazzo Bossi Bocchi, now home to the Fondazione Cariparma museum; the neoclassical Palazzo Soragna, current headquarters of the Parma Industrial Union; the Renaissance Palazzo Tarasconi; the nineteenth-century Palazzo Carmi, with its imposing neoclassical facade; the Baroque Palazzo Pallavicino, containing valuable frescoes by Sebastiano Galeotti and the current seat of the Regional Administrative Court; the fifteenth-century Palazzo Boselli.

 

Villas

In the urban area there are numerous small villas and villas from the Art Nouveau era, built in the early years of the twentieth century especially in the areas to the south-east of the historic centre, around Viale Campanini and the Citadel. Among them, the Villino Bonazzi is noteworthy, built in 1911 by the architect Mario Stocchi Monti and considered among the most typical of Italian liberty. In the southern suburbs are the neoclassical Villa Picedi at the end of viale Rustici and Villa Avogadro in strada Farnese, originally built in the open countryside.

Moving outside the city, there are various prestigious noble villas: at the western end of Parma, near San Pancrazio Parmense, the neoclassical Villa Levi-Tedeschi, characterized by an imposing pronaos and a high turret; in Gaione the neoclassical Villa Paganini, surrounded by a large park, which belonged to the violinist Niccolò Paganini; in Carignano the sixteenth-century Villa Malenchini in the center of a romantic park of 15 hectares, characterized by the Rococo structure of the entrance portal and by the important Renaissance frescoes by Cesare Baglioni in the internal rooms; in Vigatto the neo-Baroque Villa Meli Lupi with the adjoining neo-Gothic Villa Magawly-Cerati and the large English park; in Marore the neoclassical Villa Petitot by the architect Ennemond Alexandre Petitot, which still houses a small theater of the period entirely frescoed; in Porporano the neoclassical Villa Simonetta, characterized by two high gabled facades equal and opposite each other; in San Prospero Parmense the neoclassical Villa Mattei, perhaps restructured by Petitot.

 

Theaters

The city of Parma is universally known for its opera music. The most representative building in this sense is the neoclassical Teatro Regio, the city's opera house, considered one of the most important traditional theaters in Italy; it was built from 1821 by the architect Nicola Bettoli at the behest of the Duchess Maria Luigia; the interior is spread over four tiers of boxes and gallery, decorated by Girolamo Magnani, and preserves the ancient curtain painted by Giovan Battista Borghesi.

The other historic theater for which the city is known is the wooden Teatro Farnese, located inside the Palazzo della Pilotta; considered one of the first theaters to be equipped with a permanent proscenium arch, it was the first European theater with a mobile stage; it was built from 1617 by Giovan Battista Aleotti as a court theater for the Farnese dukes; destroyed by an air raid in May 1944, it was rebuilt after World War II according to the original designs.

A small nineteenth-century theatre, designed by the architect Nicola Bettoli at the behest of the Duchess Maria Luigia, is located inside the Maria Luigia National Boarding School.

At the gates of the historic centre, inside the Eridania Park, stands the Niccolò Paganini Auditorium, designed by the architect Renzo Piano and inaugurated in 2001 by recovering the previous industrial structures of the Eridania sugar factory.

There are also other noteworthy theaters in the city: Teatro Due, dominated by a recent 780-seat open-air amphitheater, considered a point of reference in the national and international theater scene; the Teatro al Parco, inside the buildings built between 1939 and 1941 to host exhibitions in the Ducal Park, for years the headquarters of the "Compagnia delle Briciole"; the huge Palaverdi, initially known as Palacassa, an auditorium inside the fairgrounds; the Giovannino Guareschi Theater under construction, intended to offer seasons of Parmesan popular theater entirely in the dialectal language.

Finally, in the hamlet of Marore, Villa Petitot preserves a rare example of a still intact eighteenth-century private theater, designed by the architect Ennemond Alexandre Petitot in neoclassical style.

 

Monuments

The city still retains some traces of its ancient Roman origins; among these, under the current Mazzini road, the remains of the Pons Lapidis (also known as the "Roman Bridge") are visible, initially built in masonry in the Augustan age but rebuilt in stone by Theodoric in 493.

The city center also hosts a series of monuments of considerable value: in piazzale Dalla Chiesa, opposite the railway station, the bronze monument to Vittorio Bottego, created in 1907 by the sculptor Ettore Ximenes; in viale Toschi, behind the Palazzo della Pilotta, the tall obelisk of the Victory monument, built in 1917 by Ximenes based on a project by the architect Lamberto Cusani; in piazzale della Pace the central altar of the disappeared monument to Giuseppe Verdi, executed in 1913 entirely in granite and bronze by Ximenes, also based on a project by Lamberto Cusani; in the same square the monument to the Partisan, created in 1954 by the sculptor Marino Mazzacurati on a project by the architect Guglielmo Lusignoli; on the ancient tower of San Paolo in strada Melloni the monument to the Fallen of all wars, executed in 1961 by various sculptors on a project by the architect Mario Monguidi; in the center of piazza della Steccata, the monument to Parmigianino, created in 1879 by the sculptor Giovanni Chierici; in the central Piazza Garibaldi, in front of the Governor's palace, the monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi, created in 1893 by the sculptor Davide Calandra; in the same square, in a niche of the Palazzo del Comune, the monument to Correggio, created in 1870 by the sculptor Agostino Ferrarini; close to the same building, towards the church of San Vitale, the copy of the ancient monument to Hercules and Anteo (also known in Parma as I du brasè), created by the Flemish artist Teodoro Vandersturck between 1684 and 1687 and kept in the original in the center of the courtyard of Palazzo Cusani.

Moving to the Oltretorrente district, the Ducal Park houses, in addition to numerous neoclassical vases and statues by the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Boudard, two significant monuments: the large Trianon Fountain, built between 1712 and 1719 by the architect and sculptor Giuliano Mozzani for the garden of the Reggia di Colorno and positioned on the islet in the center of the fishpond of the Parco Ducale in 1920; the Tempietto d'Arcadia, built in the form of a ruin in 1769 on a project by the architect Petitot.

Also in the same district, just beyond the Ponte di Mezzo, stands the tall monument to Filippo Corridoni in the center of a small square, built in Deco style between 1925 and 1927 by the sculptor Alessandro Marzaroli, based on a project by the architect Mario Monguidi.

Outside the historic centre, along via Emilia Est, stands an important building, the Arch of San Lazzaro, a triumphal arch with three arches built in 1628 according to the Baroque taste but rearranged several times, up to giving it its current neoclassical look.

Lastly, the neoclassical monumental cemetery of the Villetta is worthy of note, built on an octagonal plan in 1817 at the behest of the Duchess Maria Luigia; it houses numerous monumental tombs dedicated to famous people, including Niccolò Paganini, Ildebrando Pizzetti, Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, Giuseppe Cenni, Father Lino Maupas, Giancarlo Rastelli and Pietro Barilla.

 

Lost monuments

Like many other realities, Parma too has irretrievably lost numerous monuments over the centuries for various reasons. The most significant are: in Piazza Garibaldi the Civic Tower of 1287, probably the tallest tower in Italy with its estimated height of 130 m, collapsed suddenly in 1606 also destroying the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo of 1281; in piazzale della Pace the neoclassical Palazzo Ducale by the architect Nicola Bettoli and the Reinach Theater of 1871, damaged by the Anglo-American air raids of 1944 and later demolished; in piazzale Dalla Chiesa the majestic monument to Giuseppe Verdi from 1913, damaged by bombing during the Second World War and later demolished, retaining only the central altar which was later moved to piazzale della Pace; in piazza Ghiaia the neoclassical Beccherie of 1838, demolished in 1928 by the mayor Giovanni Mariotti for the creation of Lungoparma; the walls that encircled the entire city and three of the five gates, razed to the ground by Mayor Mariotti himself at the beginning of the 1900s to allow the city to expand more easily.

 

Natural areas and urban livability

Parks and green areas
In the municipal area there are numerous parks, gardens and green areas, some of considerable historical and architectural value. Among them, the following stand out in terms of importance: the ancient Parco Ducale, restructured in its current form in the 18th century; the Citadel, an imposing 16th-century pentagonal fortress transformed after World War II into a large public park; the Gardens of San Paolo, created in the 19th century inside the monastery of San Paolo; the seventeenth-century botanical garden, with the eighteenth-century Italian garden and the neoclassical greenhouses of Petitot.

An important ecological artery for the city is also represented by the beds of the two streams that cross it: the Parma stream, which divides it into two parts from south to north; the Baganza torrent, which flows into the other immediately south of the historical centre.

The percentage of urban green on the municipal area in 2007 was equal to 1.8% (ie about 4.68 km²), while the urban green amounted to 26.6 m² for each inhabitant. According to the 2014 Urban Ecosystem report, in 2013 the usable green areas per capita in the urban area amounted to 30.8 m² per inhabitant, while the percentage of the surface of the different green areas out of the total municipal area amounted to 3.9%. In 2014, the "green heritage" of the city consisted of 3,200,000 m² of green areas that could be used by citizens and 40,000 were the trees present, with different characteristics in relation to the species and also to the age, with a percentage of damaged trees compared to the total amount of trees owned by the Municipality is very small and in particular much less than 1%. The equipped green areas in 2014 amounted to a total of 146, divided unevenly among the various neighbourhoods. In Parma in 2014 there were a total of 34 areas for dogs inserted in neighborhood parks or near play areas for children, compared to 16,000 animals registered in the appropriate registry.

As regards the management of public green areas, the Municipality and Iren have jointly launched the "Kyoto Forest" project in recent years, which simultaneously deals with conserving the existing tree heritage and increasing it significantly; consequently, planting and felling of plants that have finished their life cycle are envisaged, at the same time as the replacement of each felled plant.

 

Urban livability

Air quality is not always good: fine particles (PM10), although they have decreased slightly in recent years, often exceed the permitted values; moreover, 2014 saw the city still excelling in the Region with 70 exceedances of PM10 levels, double the allowed. On the contrary, separate waste collection, which currently takes place through the disputed door-to-door evening system, reaches values of excellent quality, having exceeded 70% at the end of 2014. In Parma, where the percentage of bicycle trips is high, the network cycle path has considerably expanded in recent years, reaching values of 46.93 km per 100 km² of municipal area in 2012, with an increase of 40.3% compared to 2008; at the same time, the city holds the record in the Region for the extension of pedestrian areas, which in 2012 had reached values of 81.84 m² per 100 inhabitants, with an increase of 23.8% compared to 2008. In particular, at the end as of 2014, the extension of the cycle path network was 123 km, while pedestrian areas occupied 8% of the historical center and restricted traffic areas constituted 39%, with the forecast of their further extension in the short term; at the same time, the 30 zones were equal to 20% of the entire municipal area. The 2013 "Ranking of Italian cities by environmental quality", prepared following a survey by Ambiente Italia (research institute), Il Sole 24 Ore and Legambiente considering 125 indicators, places Parma in third place among medium-sized cities size, anticipated only by Trento and Bolzano.

 

Physical geography

"As a capital it had a river, in Parma, but since it is a small capital, it had a torrent, often dry."
(Attilio Bertolucci)

Located in Northern Italy, in the western part of Emilia, between the Apennines and the Po Valley, the city is divided in two by the Parma stream, a tributary of the Po which, just before entering the heart of the historic center, receives the waters of the affluent Baganza. Parma is a torrent, therefore a watercourse with a changing regime, which alternates the tumultuous floods of the winter season, when it takes the name of Parma voladora, with the desolate summer shoals.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century the same bed of the stream was narrowed within high walls, the "lungoparma" in fact, which give the city a continuous profile.

 

Territory

To secure the Parma area from the hydrogeological risks of a flood in the Parma stream, in 2005 an expansion tank was created, a few kilometers south of the urban center, in the locality of Marano. The reservoir can contain twelve million cubic meters of water: it is the largest basin in the region, effectively becoming the third largest lake during flood events. It consists of a barrier over 260 meters long and 24 high. The municipal territory is entirely flat and two waterways delimit part of the boundaries, to the west the Taro river and to the east the Enza stream, which also marks the separation from the nearby province of Reggio Emilia. The first offshoots of the Parma Apennines are located about 15 kilometers southwards, outside the municipal area, in the neighboring municipalities of Traversetolo, Lesignano de 'Bagni, Langhirano, Felino, Sala Baganza and Collecchio.

Seismic classification: seismic zone 3 (low seismicity), PCM Ordinance n. 3274 of 20/03/2003

 

Climate

The climate of Parma is typically continental: summers are hot and muggy with daytime temperatures of around 30 ° C (on 6 August 2003 the new record was established since 1878 as the hottest day ever; the maximum temperature was 39, 3 ° C), punctuated by even severe thunderstorms on the lower plain. Winters are harsh with minimum temperatures often below freezing (the record was reached on January 10, 1985 when the temperature dropped to -25 ° C in the city center and in the surrounding countryside it was -33 ° C), while in the winter of 2011 it was -24 ° C. Snowfalls are very frequent on the Apennines, while in the city and on the flat area, an average of 35 - 40 cm of snow falls every winter. In autumn the phenomenon of fog is frequent, especially north of the Via Emilia and towards the Po river. The wettest month is October with an average of 91 mm, the driest month is July with an average of 36 mm (average monthly referring to the period 1961-1990).

Based on the thirty-year average 1961-1990, the average temperature of the coldest month, January, is +1.3 ° C; that of the hottest month, July, is around +24.4 ° C. Average annual rainfall is 777 mm, with relative minimums in summer and winter, maximum peak in autumn and secondary maximum in spring. The annual average absolute heliophany records the average figure of 6.4 hours per day, with a maximum of 10.2 average hours per day in July and a minimum of 2.6 average hours per day in December.

 

History

The oldest traces of man's presence in the Parma area date back to the ancient Neolithic period, roughly between 5600 and 5000 BC, but at the time the area was scarcely inhabited; the situation changed after 5000 BC, when various settlements referring to the culture of square-mouthed vessels developed.

During the Early Bronze Age, between the 18th and 17th centuries BC, some villages attributable to the Polada culture were founded, but it was with the onset of the Middle Bronze Age, starting from the 16th century BC, that they spread in the territory numerous terramaricolo settlements.

Although there are no testimonial traces, for some historians and according to a mention by Tito Livio, Parma was founded by the Etruscans, who settled in western Emilia between the 7th and 6th centuries BC. Subsequently, towards the 4th century BC, the region was occupied by the Celts Boi.

With the progressive conquest of Northern Italy by the Romans, in 183 B.C. Parma became a Roman colony and each of the 2,000 families settled there was entrusted with lots of land near the Via Emilia, from which, to the east of the city, a cardo of the centuriation started and wound along the valley of the Parma torrent, giving rise to the road of hundred miles, which connected Parma to Luni through the Lagastrello pass. Over the years, the loyalty shown towards the Empire earned the city the title of Augusta Parmensis.

In later times, the crisis of the Roman Empire also caused Parma to lose a certain stability and economic prosperity until the peak of a demographic decline, which in 377 forced the emperor Gratian to establish a tribe of barbarians, the Taifals, in the area. . Periods of alternation between prosperity and decline followed: the looting of Attila in 452 was countered, after 502, by the rebirth by Theodoric; to the subsequent dramatic consequences caused by the Gothic wars there was again a revival during the brief Byzantine period (539-568), which earned Parma the nickname of "Crisopoli" (City of Gold).

It was later, with the arrival of the Lombards in 593, that Parma became for the first time a military and administrative center, the capital of a duchy where one of the daughters of King Agilulfo resided. The Franks succeeded the Lombard dukes and in 879 Carloman granted bishop Guibodo temporal power over the city. The looting caused in the 9th century by the invasions of the Magyars was followed by a period of peace and population growth. In this phase, Parma continued to be governed by a long series of counts-bishops until the 12th century, when the city became a free commune, administered by a podestà and a captain of the people. In 1160 Federico Barbarossa subdued the citizens of Parma forcing them to declare loyalty to the Empire, but the imperial authority was defeated in the battle of Legnano in 1176 by the cities united in the Lombard League (including Parma). In 1183 the Peace of Constance re-established the city's autonomy.

In the long dispute between Guelphs and Ghibellines, which dominated Italian political life from the 12th to the 14th century, Parma first sided with the Ghibellines, in favor of the Emperor, and later with the Guelphs, after the battle of Borghetto del Taro (near the current Castelguelfo). A period of foreign domination followed: Parma was subjected to the Milanese dominion of the Visconti from 1346 to 1447, except for a brief interlude, between 1404 and 1409, in which power passed into the hands of Ottobuono de' Terzi. The Viscontis will be succeeded by the Sforzas but also by the French dominations.

In 1521 the papal and Spanish armies, after a three-day siege, defeated the French and the city was conquered. In 1545 Pope Paul III (born Alessandro Farnese), created the Duchy of Parma entrusting it to his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese and the Farnese family maintained the ducal government until 1731, making Parma a small Italian capital, rich in the works of great artists such as Correggio and Parmigianino.

The Bourbons succeeded the Farnese with the Infante of Spain Charles I, son of Elisabetta Farnese and Philip V of Spain. In 1734, following the outbreak of the War of the Polish Succession and the Bourbon conquest of the Two Sicilies, Charles I was recognized as King of Naples, but was forced to cede the duchy of Parma to Emperor Charles VI of Habsburg in 1735, without first forgetting to strip Parma of all the family collections kept in the palaces and take them with him to Naples. In 1748 the duchy of Parma and Piacenza, with the addition of Guastalla, returned to the Bourbons with the stipulation of the Treaty of Aachen, which put an end to the war of the Austrian succession; Philip founded the Bourbon-Parma dynasty, which helped make Parma a cultural beacon in Europe. In 1802 Napoleon Bonaparte annexed the duchy to France, transforming it into a simple department (department of Taro). During the French occupation, several works of art made their way to France due to Napoleonic looting. Parma was together with Florence the most looted. According to the catalog published in the Bulletin de la Société de l'art français of 1936, of the 47 works of art sent to France and catalogued, only 28 returned to Parma, most of those that remained in France were exhibited in the Louvre and in French provincial museums.

Only with Napoleon's abdication in 1814 and the subsequent Congress of Vienna was the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla re-established, temporarily entrusted to the Habsburgs. Maria Luigia of Austria, wife of Napoleon and daughter of Emperor Francis I, thus became the new duchess of the city and, despite the revolutionary episodes of 1831, retained power until her death in 1847, however without the power to pass on the throne to heirs. In the same year the Bourbon-Parmas returned to govern the duchy, first with Charles II (1847-1849), who was succeeded by his son, Charles III (1849-1854), stabbed to death in the street on 26 March 1854 by a unknown, and finally with Robert I who, being too young to govern, had the regency ensured by his mother Louise Marie of Bourbon-France. Roberto I was deposed in 1859, at the age of eleven, when, at the outbreak of the second war of independence, his mother preferred to flee to the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, awaiting the outcome of the war. With the Armistice of Villafranca, the Kingdom of Sardinia annexed the Duchy after a plebiscite celebrated in 1860. The Bourbon-Parma branch still thrives and, since 1964, Roberto's grandchildren are Grand Dukes of Luxembourg.

In 1922 the city of Parma distinguished itself for having fought the fascist militias commanded by Italo Balbo by erecting barricades in numerous districts of the city. On 23 April 1945 the retreat of the Nazi-fascist troops from Parma began and on 24 April a group of citizens temporarily took over the local newspaper La Gazzetta di Parma, with the aim of handing it over to the National Liberation Committee; finally, on April 26, partisans and allied troops entered the city. For the sacrifices of its populations and for its activity in the partisan struggle during the Second World War, Parma is among the cities decorated for military valor for the War of Liberation and awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valor. During the Constituent Assembly there was an attempt by sen. Giuseppe Micheli and some politicians, to create the Emilia Lunense region, with Parma as its capital: the proposal was initially approved, but was later suspended with the article Mortati.

 

Society

 Demographic evolution

Parma is third in Italy (Censis 2010 analysis) for the increase in the resident population, thanks to the stable birth rate, the decrease in the mortality rate and the increase in the migration rate, with a rejuvenation of the average age and a high percentage of foreign residents. Based on the DMA (Dynamic Metropolitan Areas) procedure, which consists of starting from centers with over 50,000 inhabitants and aggregating contiguous municipalities that have at least a 15% rate of commuting to them for work or study, the metropolitan area of Parma is considered level B DMAs with a total population of 444,395 inhabitants (data Dec. 2008, the data on commuter flows is taken from the 2001 Istat Census).

Evolution to the 21st century
From the first 2,000 families of the Roman colony of 183 BC, the strategic territorial value of the city allowed it even after 774 to be chosen as a settlement area by many immigrants following Charlemagne. In 1400 there were about 12,000 citizens and in 1545 Parma was considered a medium-sized city with 19,592 registered inhabitants. A severe famine that occurred in 1551 reduced its number to 17,000, but a little more than twenty years later, in 1573, thanks to the established role of capital of a duchy, the number of inhabitants reached 26,000 and in 1630, thanks the "major construction works" that attracted labourers, reached 46,000, to then drop to 30,000 after the terrible plague epidemic of the same year. During the government of Maria Luigia (which lasted from 1814 to 1847), the number of inhabitants increased to 45,000, and in 1861, the year of the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, 47,428 inhabitants lived in Parma, making up 18.5% of the citizens of the province, which ranked the city 20th in the country.

Ten years later the capital lost almost 2,000 inhabitants reaching 45,511, an involution in contrast with the other Italian cities. The demographic decline also continued in the following years, establishing the population in 1881 at 45,217 inhabitants and positioning the city as the twenty-sixth Italian capital. The demographic decline was the effect of the closure of the state and the ducal court, which caused the loss of many economic activities causing a consequent social and economic decay.

 

Foreign ethnic groups and minorities

According to the analyzes of the municipal statistics office, at the end of 2015 there were 30,687 legal foreigners residing in the city (of which 14,348 males and 16,339 females), returning to growth after the decline suffered during 2013. The weight on the total The population stood at 15.9% at the municipal level, distributed in various ways in the various neighbourhoods, which at the end of 2013 respectively recorded values of 24.4% (Oltretorrente), 22.2% (Pablo), 20.1% ( Parma Centro), 19.3% (San Leonardo), 13.9% (Molinetto, San Pancrazio and Montanara), 13.5% (San Lazzaro), 11.7% (Cortile San Martino), 11.6% ( Ljubljana), 11.3% (Cittadella), 10.9% (Golese) and 9.0% (Vigatto). As regards age, at the end of 2014 the ranges between 25 and 39 years of age were the largest, followed immediately by the 0-4 year-old class, which stood out compared to the immediately following classes, testifying to the increase in births which occurred in the last few years. As regards the family composition, 42.2% of foreign families were made up of one person, 18.4% of two, 16.1% of three, 13.5% of four, 6.1% from five and the remaining 3.8% from six or more.

As of 31 December 2020, the foreign population residing in the municipality amounted to 33,894 inhabitants.

The most represented nationalities were:
Romania 4 598
Moldova 4 056
Albania 2 835
Philippines 2 621
Nigeria 2 078
Tunisia 1 740
Morocco 1 323
Ghana 1 249
Ukraine 1 246
Ivory Coast 995

 

Catholic religion

There are numerous religious families born in Parma and still flourishing: the Ursuline Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, founded in 1575 and reformed by Maria Lucrezia Zileri dal Verme in the 19th century; the Maestre Luigine, founded around 1755 by Rosa Orzi and united with the Dominican Sisters of the Blessed Imelda; the Handmaids of the Immaculate Conception, founded by Anna Maria Adorni to assist wayward women and girls in danger; the Little Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, founded in 1865 by Agostino Chieppi; the Pious Society of St. Francis Xavier for Foreign Missions, founded in 1895 by Guido Maria Conforti, of which there is the female branch of the nuns of the Missionary Society of Mary, founded by Celestina Bottego and Giacomo Spagnolo.

The Benedictine monks of the abbey of San Giovanni have been present in the city since 983 and their monastery was reformed in 1852 by the people of Subiaco. In Parma there are also the cloistered monasteries of the Discalced Carmelites (at Santa Maria Bianca), founded in 1635 at the request of Margherita Aldobrandini with nuns from Cremona, and of the Capuchin Poor Clares (at Santa Maria degli Angeli), founded in 1682 at the behest of Ranuccio II Farnese with some nuns from Guastalla.

The Friars Minor were introduced to Parma in 1220 by St. Francis of Assisi and later divided into the branches of the observants, at the church of the Santissima Annunziata, and the conventuals, at San Francesco del Prato (later reduced to the oratory of the Immacolata conception).

The Discalced Carmelites, already present since 1623, returned definitively to Parma in 1881 and officiate in the church of Santa Teresa del Bambin Gesù; the Salesians arrived at the church of San Benedetto in 1889 and founded a boys' college there, to which was later added the girls' college of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians; the Brothers of the Christian Schools opened their first headquarters in Parma in 1836; the Stigmatines arrived in the city in 1876 and since 1969 have taken care of the parish of the Sacred Stigmata; the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Betharram look after the parish of Sant'Andrea, founded in 1977.

Also present in Parma are: the Daughters of the Cross, Sisters of Sant'Andrea, introduced in 1851 by Luisa Maria of Bourbon-France; the Handmaid Sisters of the Sanctuary, born in Piacenza and active at the "Città di Parma" nursing home; the Sisters of Divine Providence for Abandoned Childhood, from Piacenza, who arrived in 1924 to work in the hospice of San Giuseppe; the Ursuline Sisters Daughters of Mary Immaculate, dedicated to hospital assistance.

 

Institutions, organizations and associations

Over the years, numerous research and control bodies have established themselves in Parma, in particular related to the agro-food and scientific sector. Formerly the seat of the Interregional Agency for the Po River (AIPO) (formerly the Magistrate for the Po) and of the Po River Basin District Authority, in December 2003 Parma became the seat of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) , one of the most important control agencies in the European Union.

The geographical position and the presence of a prestigious university have also allowed the development of other important public structures, points of reference for geographical areas that go beyond the provincial borders, such as the Ospedale Maggiore of Parma, which over the years has become one of the main hospitals in the Emilia-Romagna region, the Italian Consortium for food safety and research, the Interuniversity Consortium of Innovative Pharmaceutical Technologies (TEFARCO), the Experimental Station for the Food Preserving Industry (SSICA) or the research, innovation and consultancy related to the SIQUAL and TECAL food industry. Thanks to the economic spin-off due to the close collaboration between these organizations and the local industry, an important sector linked to congresses and business tourism is developing in parallel with consequent repercussions on the local economy, on the standard of living represented by the presence in the city of numerous scientists and officials and on the development of some infrastructures such as the airport, the road network, the hotel industry.

 

Culture

The aristocratic traditions and a certain sophistication of social life characterize the city soul which is evident in particular with the passion of the Parmesan towards music and the Opera, for centuries much followed and appreciated by various strata of the population.

The first literate native of Parma of which we know was Gaius Cassius Parmense (1st century BC), belonging to one of the Roman families who founded the city and author of tragedies and elegies, but the history of Parma has over time been enriched by the intellectual contribution of numerous artists, poets and painters who have determined the intense fervor towards multiform cultural interests, confirmed by the presence in the city of numerous theatres, museums, international events and exhibitions in the field of art and commercial exchanges. Benedetto Antelami, Parmigianino, Correggio, Ireneo Affò, Giovanni Battista Bodoni with the Amoretti Brothers, Ferdinando Paër, Macedonio Melloni, Giuseppe Verdi, Arturo Toscanini, Ennemond Alexandre Petitot, Étienne Bonnot de Condillac and Attilio Bertolucci are just some of the personalities linked to Parma which have left an important imprint on the city's artistic and cultural traditions.

Parma was magnified by Stendhal (born Henri Beyle), who visited it for the first time in 1814 and dreamed of it in the pages of his Chartreuse de Parme (The Charterhouse of Parma); later it was desired by Marcel Proust in his Du côté de chez Swann (Swann's road).

In the eighteenth century the development of art and of the city's institutions helped to define Parma as the "Athens of Italy", while today, thanks to the new role attributed to it within the European Union with the assignment of an important community agency , the city is trying to reassert the ancient tradition of a small capital.

On 16 February 2018 it was proclaimed the Italian capital of culture for the year 2020.