Parma travel guide

Parma Travel Guide – Geography and Demographics

Parma is a city located in the north of Italy in the province Emilia-Romagna and, as you will find from this Parma travel guide, it is famous for its history and architecture that are well respected and have been beautifully preserved. It takes its name from the Roman shield called parma and it appears to have been a built up area since the Bronze Age. It is crossed by a small stream which holds the same name and gives the city a special aspect. Parma has 178.000 inhabitants and a constant growing in population. Approximately 90 % of the people in the city are Italians and the large majority of the rest of the population came from Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Albania and Romania). The closer large cities are Verona (90 kilometers northeast) and the capital Rome, located 360 kilometers south.

Parma Travel Guide – Cultural Activities

Its old flourishing history gives Parma many astonishing monuments, churches and palaces which have been built, sculpted and painted by famous local personalities. It has been a rich city through most of its existence and this is perfectly reflected in the medieval and Renaissance monuments brought to life by the paintings of Correggio. The impressive Duomo also speaks loads of the city and there is great pride in the native composer Giuseppe Verdi’s legacy. Parma also has one of the oldest universities in the world, the University of Parma, which was founded in the 11th century and currently holds 12 faculties with over 30.000 students. Sports activity is also appreciated in the city, and their football team Parma F.C. is renowned both in Italy and Europe for its past and present successes. Other sports practiced in the city include volleyball, women basketball, rugby and baseball.

Parma Travel Guide – The Culinary Legacy

Maybe the most important aspect connected to Parma’s worldwide contribution is the culinary one, as it is specified in almost every Parma travel guide. This small Italian city gave the world many appreciated types of food which are now extremely popular everywhere. The first one is the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, a hard and fat granular cheese which came to be known as parmesan and is now use in hundreds of recipes all over the world. The people in Parma also take pride in their Prosciutto di Parma (Parma ham), raw thinly sliced ham which is spiced according to taste and is usually served as an appetizer. Since 2004 Parma has been home to the European Food Safety Authority and is the logistic and administrative centre for two major food multinationals, Parmalat and Barilla.