La città

THE CITY

Parma was founded by the Romans in 183 BC. on the famous Via Emilia which crosses the region and the city. The golden age of the city begins with the foundation of the Duchy of Parma in 1545 by Pope Paul III belonging to the Farnese family who will hold control until 1731. The city during this period is enriched by the works of Parmigianino and Correggio two of the most famous Italian painters of the sixteenth century. During the Napoleonic era, the city began to be called the small capital due to its resemblance to a small Italian Paris and thanks to the buildings commissioned by Maria Luigia of Habsburg, Napoleon's wife, who resided in the city. 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. Today Parma is a city of about 180,000 inhabitants, with many university students, seat of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), with a branch of the Scientific Investigations Department (RIS) and seat of the Po River Basin Authority.

WHAT I CAN SEE IN PARMA

Parma is a small city, everything is just around the corner!

• Pilotta and Piazzale della Pace: a building destroyed during the Second World War, which inside contains the Farnese Theater (built entirely of wood, it could be filled with water to reproduce battle scenes with ships), the National Gallery, the Archaeological Museum and the Palatine Library, the oldest in Parma.

• Teatro Regio

• Giardini di San Paolo: a hidden oasis in the heart of the city; watching the leaves fall to the ground is relaxing!

• Parco Ducale: if you want to relax for a moment, we advise you to take a photo of the lake and a visit to the Sanvitale palace in the middle of the park.

• Citadel: a pentagon-shaped park just outside the historic center, it was built as a fortress, but today it is almost an open-air gym!

• The Tardini and Petitot stadium

• Church of the Steccata: has a Greek cross plan, it is where you will find the tombs of the Farnese family who were the dukes of the city

• Church of the Annunziata and Oltretorrente: this is the most "heroic" district of the city, it has earned the gold medal of honor for military services

• Cathedral and Baptistery: you can admire the frescoes of the cathedral and the statues of the building in pink Carrara marble.