Parma
Encyclopedia
Parma is a city
in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna
famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture
and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma
, one of the oldest universities in the world.
Parma is divided into two parts by the little stream with the same name. Parma's Etruscan name was adapted by Romans to describe the round shield called Parma
.
The Italian
poet Attilio Bertolucci
(born in a hamlet in the countryside) wrote: "As a capital city it had to have a river. As a little capital it received a stream, which is often dry". The district on the far side of the river is Oltretorrente.
. It has been verified by now that in the current position of the city rose a terramare
. The "terramare" (marl earth) were ancient villages in structural wood on pile-dwelling built according to a defined scheme and squared form, built on the dry land, generally in proximity of the rivers. During this age (among the 1500 BC and the 800 BC) the first necropolis
es (placed where stand the present-day Piazza Duomo and Millstone Square) rose also.
(XXII, 2,2; XXVIII, 2,1) reported that the Romans had changed their rectangular shields for round ones, imitating the Etruscans. Whether the Etruscan encampment was so named because it was round, like a shield, or whether its situation was a shield against the Gauls to the north, is uncertain.
The Roman
colony was founded in 183 BC, together with Mutina (Modena
); 2,000 families were settled. Parma had a certain importance as a road hub over the Via Aemilia
and the Via Claudia. It had a forum, in what is today the central Garibaldi Square. In 44 BC, the city was destroyed, and Augustus rebuilt it. During the Roman Empire
, it gained the title of Julia for its loyalty to the imperial house.
The city was subsequently sacked by Attila, and later given by the barbarian king Odoacer
to his fellows. During the Gothic War
, however, Totila
destroyed it. It was then part of the Byzantine
Exarchate of Ravenna
(changing name to Chrysopolis, "Golden City", probably due to the presence of the imperial treasury) and, from 569, of the Lombard
Kingdom of Italy. During the Middle Ages, Parma became an important stage of the Via Francigena
, the main road connecting Rome to Northern Europe; several castles, hospitals and inns were built in the following centuries to host the increasing number of pilgrims who passed by Parma and Fidenza, following the Apennines via Collecchio, Berceto and the Corchia ranges before descending the Passo della Cisa into Tuscany, heading finally south toward Rome.
Under the Frankish
rule, Parma became the capital of a county (774). Like most northern Italian cities, it was nominally a part of the Holy Roman Empire
created by Charlemagne
, but locally ruled by its bishops, the first being Guidobus. In the subsequent struggles between the Papacy
and the Empire, Parma was usually a member of the Imperial party. Two of its bishops became antipope
s: Càdalo, founder of the cathedral, as Honorius II
); and Guibert, as Clement III
). An almost independent commune
was created around 1140; a treaty between Parma and Piacenza
of 1149 is the earliest document of a comune headed by consul
s. After the Peace of Constance
(1183) confirmed the Italian communes' rights of self-governance, long-standing quarrels with the neighbouring communes of Reggio Emilia
, Piacenza and Cremona
became harsher, with the aim of controlling the vital trading line over the Po River
.
The struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines was a feature of Parma too. In 1213, her podestà
was the Guelph Rambertino Buvalelli
. Then, after a long stance alongside the emperors, the Papist families of the city gained control in 1248. The city was besieged in 1247–48 by Emperor Frederick II
, who was however crushed in the battle
that ensued.
in 1341. After a short-lived period of independence under the Terzi family (1404–1409), Sforza imposed their rule (1440–1449) through their associated families of Pallavicino, Rossi, Sanvitale and Da Correggio. These created a kind of new feudalism
, building towers and castles throughout the city and the land. These fiefs evolved into truly independent states: the Landi governed the higher Taro
's valley from 1257 to 1682. The Pallavicino seignory extended over the eastern part of today's province, with the capital in Busseto
. Parma's territories were an exception for Northern Italy, as its feudal subdivision frequently continued until more recent years. For example, Solignano was a Pallavicino family possession until 1805, and San Secondo
belonged to the Rossi well into the 19th century.
Between the 14th and the 15th centuries, Parma was at the centre of the Italian Wars. The Battle of Fornovo
was fought in its territory. The French
held the city in 1500–1521, with a short Papal parenthesis in 1512–1515. After the foreigners were expelled, Parma belonged to the Papal States
until 1545.
In that year the Farnese pope, Paul III
, detached Parma and Piacenza
from the Papal States and gave them as a duchy for his illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese
, whose descendants ruled in Parma until 1731, when Antonio Farnese (1679–1731), last male of the Farnese line, died. In the Treaty of London (1718) it was promulgated that the heir to the duchy would be Elisabeth Farnese's elder son with Philip V of Spain
, Don Carlos
. In 1731, the fifteen-year-old Don Carlos became Charles I Duke of Parma and Piacenza, at the death of his childless great uncle Antonio Farnese. In 1734, Charles I conquered the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, and was crowned as the King of Naples and Sicily on 3 July 1735, leaving the Duchy of Parma to his brother Philip (Filippo I di Borbone-Parma).
In 1594 a constitution was promulgated, the University
enhanced and the Nobles' College founded. The war to reduce the barons' power continued for several years: in 1612 Barbara Sanseverino was executed in the central square of Parma, together with six other nobles charged of plotting against the duke. At the end of the 17th century, after the defeat of Pallavicini (1588) and Landi (1682) the Farnese duke could finally hold with firm hand all Parmense territories. The castle of the Sanseverino in Colorno
was turned into a luxurious summer palace by Ferdinando Bibiena.
In 1731 the combined Duchy of Parma
and Piacenza
was given to the House of Bourbon
in a diplomatic shuffle of the European dynastic politics that were played out in Italy. Under the new rulers, however, it faced a certain decadence. In 1734 all the outstanding art collections of the duke's palaces of Parma, Colorno
and Sala Baganza
were moved to Naples
.
Parma was under French influence after the Peace of Aachen (1748). Parma became a modern state with the energetic action of prime minister Guillaume du Tillot
. He created the bases for a modern industry and fought strenuously against the church's privileges. The city lived a period of particular splendour: the Biblioteca Palatina
(Palatine Library), the Archaeological Museum, the Picture Gallery and the Botanical Garden were founded, together with the Royal Printing Works directed by Giambattista Bodoni
.
(1802–1814), Parma was part of the Taro Département
. Under its French name Parme, it was also created a duché grand-fief de l'Empire for Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance
, the Emperor's Arch-Treasurer, on 24 April 1808 (extinguished 1926).
After its restoration by the 1814–15 Vienna Congress, the Risorgimento's upheavals had no fertile ground in the tranquil duchy. In 1847, after Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
's death, it passed again to the Bourbons
, the last of whom was stabbed in the city and left it to his Widow, Luisa Maria of Berry. On September 15, 1859 the dynasty was declared deposed, and Parma entered in the newly formed provinces of Emilia under Luigi Carlo Farini
. With the plebiscite of 1860 the former duchy became part of the unified Kingdom of Italy
.
The loss of the capital role provoked an economical and social crisis in Parma. It started to recover its role of industrial prominence after the connection with Piacenza and Bologna
of 1859, and with Fornovo
and Suzzara
in 1883. Trade union
s were strong in the city, in which a famous General Strike was declared from May 1 to June 6, 1908. The struggle with Fascism
lived its most dramatic moment in the August 1922, when the regime officer Italo Balbo
attempted to enter in the popular quarter of Oltretorrente. The citizens organized into the Arditi del Popolo ("People's assaulters") and pushed back the squadristi. This episode is considered the first example of Resistance in Italy.
During World War II
, Parma was a strong centre of partisan
resistance. The train station and marshalling yards were targets for high altitude bombing by the Allies in the spring of 1944. Much of the Palazzo della Pilotta
— situated not far (half a mile) from the train station — was destroyed. Along with it also Teatro Farnese
and part of Biblioteca Palatina were destroyed by Allied bombs. Several other monuments were also damaged: Palazzo del Giardino, Steccata church, San Giovanni church, Palazzo Ducale, Paganini theater and the monument to Verdi
. However Parma did not see widespread destruction during the war. Parma was liberated of the German occupation (1943–1945) on April 26, 1945 by the partisan resistance and troops of Brazilian Expeditionary Force.
Recently Parma was chosen for the setting of John Grisham
's American football
comedy Playing for Pizza
.
In 2007, there were 177,069 people residing in Parma located in the province of Parma, Emilia-Romagna
, of whom 47.4% were male and 52.6% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 14.87% of the population compared to pensioners who numbered 22.90%. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06% (minors) and 19.94% (pensioners). The average age of a Parma resident is 46 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Parma experienced 6.97% growth, while Italy
as a whole grew by 3.56%. The current birth rate of Parma is 8.53 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.
As of 2006, 90.91% of the population was Italian
. The largest foreign group came from other parts of Europe
(namely Albania
, Romania
, and Ukraine
): 3.61%, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa
(namely Ghana
): 1.86%, and North Africa
: 1.44%. Approximately 17.9% of newborns has at least one parent of foreign origins, compared to the Italian average of 10.3%.
cheese
(also produced in Reggio Emilia
), Prosciutto di Parma (Parma ham)
. Parma claims several stuffed pasta dishes like "tortelli d'erbetta" and "anolini in broth".
In 2004 Parma was appointed the seat of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
.
Parma also has two food multinationals, Barilla and Parmalat
and a food tourism sector represented by Parma Golosa and Food Valley.
with: Shijiazhuang
, China
Milwaukee, United States
Guadalajara, Mexico
Bourg-en-Bresse
, France
Tours
, France
Guadalajara
, Spain
Ljubljana
, Slovenia
Worms
, Germany
Szeged
, Hungary
Moncton, Canada
Stockton
, United States
was founded in 1913. It is a Serie A
football
club renowned in Italy and Europe for its successes including three national cups, a European Cup Winner's Cup
, two UEFA Cups, a European Supercup and an Italian Supercup. It plays in the city's stade Ennio Tardini
which used to host up to 29,000 spectators but is being renovated in 2008 after the club was demoted to Serie B. In spring 2009 the team was promoted again in the top league (Serie A
).
Parma is also home to two rugby union
teams in the top national division, Overmach Rugby Parma
and SKG Gran Rugby
.
Parma Panthers
is the Parma American football
team for which John Grisham
's book Playing for Pizza
was based.
Also volleyball
, women basketball and baseball
have large popularity in the city and have scored relevant successes.
is on the Milan–Bologna railway.
The Parma trolleybus system
has been in operation since 1953. It replaced an earlier tram
way network, and presently comprises four trolleybus
routes.
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma
University of Parma
The University of Parma is one of the oldest universities in the world, founded in the 11th century. It is organised in twelve faculties. The University of Parma has currently about 30,000 students.-History:...
, one of the oldest universities in the world.
Parma is divided into two parts by the little stream with the same name. Parma's Etruscan name was adapted by Romans to describe the round shield called Parma
Parma (shield)
Parma or parmula was a type of round shield used by the Roman army, especially during the later period of Imperial history.-Characteristics:...
.
The Italian
Italian literature
Italian literature is literature written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in Italy in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian....
poet Attilio Bertolucci
Attilio Bertolucci
Attilio Bertolucci was an Italian poet and writer. He is father to film directors Bernardo and Giuseppe Bertolucci.-Biography:...
(born in a hamlet in the countryside) wrote: "As a capital city it had to have a river. As a little capital it received a stream, which is often dry". The district on the far side of the river is Oltretorrente.
Prehistory
Parma was already a built-up area in the Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
. It has been verified by now that in the current position of the city rose a terramare
Terramare culture
Terramare, Terramara or Terremare is a technology complex mainly of the central Po valley, in Emilia, northern Italy, dating to the Middle and Late Bronze Age ca. 1700-1150 BC. It takes its name from the "black earth" residue of settlement mounds. Terramare is from terra marna, "marl-earth", where...
. The "terramare" (marl earth) were ancient villages in structural wood on pile-dwelling built according to a defined scheme and squared form, built on the dry land, generally in proximity of the rivers. During this age (among the 1500 BC and the 800 BC) the first necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
es (placed where stand the present-day Piazza Duomo and Millstone Square) rose also.
Antiquity
The city was most probably founded and named by the Etruscans, for a parma (circular shield) was a Latin borrowing, as were many Roman terms for particular arms, and Parmeal, Parmni and Parmnial are names that appear in Etruscan inscriptions. Diodorus SiculusDiodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
(XXII, 2,2; XXVIII, 2,1) reported that the Romans had changed their rectangular shields for round ones, imitating the Etruscans. Whether the Etruscan encampment was so named because it was round, like a shield, or whether its situation was a shield against the Gauls to the north, is uncertain.
The Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
colony was founded in 183 BC, together with Mutina (Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
); 2,000 families were settled. Parma had a certain importance as a road hub over the Via Aemilia
Via Aemilia
The Via Aemilia was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from Ariminum , on the Adriatic coast, to Placentia on the river Padus . It was completed in 187 BC...
and the Via Claudia. It had a forum, in what is today the central Garibaldi Square. In 44 BC, the city was destroyed, and Augustus rebuilt it. During the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, it gained the title of Julia for its loyalty to the imperial house.
The city was subsequently sacked by Attila, and later given by the barbarian king Odoacer
Odoacer
Flavius Odoacer , also known as Flavius Odovacer, was the first King of Italy. His reign is commonly seen as marking the end of the Western Roman Empire. Though the real power in Italy was in his hands, he represented himself as the client of Julius Nepos and, after Nepos' death in 480, of the...
to his fellows. During the Gothic War
Gothic War (535–552)
The Gothic War between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy was fought from 535 until 554 in Italy, Dalmatia, Sardinia, Sicily and Corsica. It is commonly divided into two phases. The first phase lasted from 535 to 540 and ended with the fall of Ravenna and the apparent...
, however, Totila
Totila
Totila, original name Baduila was King of the Ostrogoths from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the territories in Italy that the Eastern Roman Empire had captured from his Kingdom in 540.A relative of...
destroyed it. It was then part of the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
Exarchate of Ravenna
Exarchate of Ravenna
The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the Lombards.-Introduction:...
(changing name to Chrysopolis, "Golden City", probably due to the presence of the imperial treasury) and, from 569, of the Lombard
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
Kingdom of Italy. During the Middle Ages, Parma became an important stage of the Via Francigena
Via Francigena
The Via Francigena is an ancient road between Rome and Canterbury, passing through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. In mediaeval times it was an important road and pilgrimage route...
, the main road connecting Rome to Northern Europe; several castles, hospitals and inns were built in the following centuries to host the increasing number of pilgrims who passed by Parma and Fidenza, following the Apennines via Collecchio, Berceto and the Corchia ranges before descending the Passo della Cisa into Tuscany, heading finally south toward Rome.
Middle Ages
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
rule, Parma became the capital of a county (774). Like most northern Italian cities, it was nominally a part of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
created by Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, but locally ruled by its bishops, the first being Guidobus. In the subsequent struggles between the Papacy
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
and the Empire, Parma was usually a member of the Imperial party. Two of its bishops became antipope
Antipope
An antipope is a person who opposes a legitimately elected or sitting Pope and makes a significantly accepted competing claim to be the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church. At times between the 3rd and mid-15th century, antipopes were typically those supported by a...
s: Càdalo, founder of the cathedral, as Honorius II
Antipope Honorius II
Honorius II , born Pietro Cadalus, was an antipope from 1061 to 1072. He was born at Verona and became bishop of Parma in 1046. He died at Parma in 1072....
); and Guibert, as Clement III
Antipope Clement III
Guibert or Wibert of Ravenna was a cleric made antipope in 1080 due to perceived abuses of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy, a title that lasted to his death....
). An almost independent commune
Medieval commune
Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread...
was created around 1140; a treaty between Parma and Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
of 1149 is the earliest document of a comune headed by consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
s. After the Peace of Constance
Peace of Constance
The Peace of Constance of 1183 was signed in Konstanz by Frederick Barbarossa and representatives of the Lombard League. It confirmed the Peace of Venice of 1177. The Italian cities retained local jurisdiction over their territories, and had the freedom to elect their own councils and to enact...
(1183) confirmed the Italian communes' rights of self-governance, long-standing quarrels with the neighbouring communes of Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
, Piacenza and Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
became harsher, with the aim of controlling the vital trading line over the Po River
Po River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
.
The struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines was a feature of Parma too. In 1213, her podestà
Podestà
Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...
was the Guelph Rambertino Buvalelli
Rambertino Buvalelli
Rambertino di Guido Buvalelli , a Bolognese judge, statesman, diplomat, and poet, was the earliest of the podestà-troubadours of thirteenth-century Lombardy. He served at one time or other as podestà of Brescia, Milan, Parma, Mantua, Genoa, and Verona. Ten of his Occitan poems survive, but none...
. Then, after a long stance alongside the emperors, the Papist families of the city gained control in 1248. The city was besieged in 1247–48 by Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
, who was however crushed in the battle
Battle of Parma
The Battle of Parma was fought on February 18, 1248 between the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and the Guelphs. The Guelphs attacked the Imperial camp when Frederick II was away. The Imperial forces were defeated and much of Frederick's treasure was lost.-Background:The free commune of...
that ensued.
Modern era
Parma fell under the control of MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in 1341. After a short-lived period of independence under the Terzi family (1404–1409), Sforza imposed their rule (1440–1449) through their associated families of Pallavicino, Rossi, Sanvitale and Da Correggio. These created a kind of new feudalism
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
, building towers and castles throughout the city and the land. These fiefs evolved into truly independent states: the Landi governed the higher Taro
Taro
Taro is a common name for the corms and tubers of several plants in the family Araceae . Of these, Colocasia esculenta is the most widely cultivated, and is the subject of this article. More specifically, this article describes the 'dasheen' form of taro; another variety is called eddoe.Taro is...
's valley from 1257 to 1682. The Pallavicino seignory extended over the eastern part of today's province, with the capital in Busseto
Busseto
Busseto is a comune in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy. It was the capital of Stato Pallavicino. Opera composer Giuseppe Verdi was born in the nearby village of Le Roncole and he moved there in 1824...
. Parma's territories were an exception for Northern Italy, as its feudal subdivision frequently continued until more recent years. For example, Solignano was a Pallavicino family possession until 1805, and San Secondo
San Secondo Parmense
San Secondo Parmense is a comune in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 200 km northwest of Bologna and about 15 km northwest of Parma....
belonged to the Rossi well into the 19th century.
Between the 14th and the 15th centuries, Parma was at the centre of the Italian Wars. The Battle of Fornovo
Battle of Fornovo
The Battle of Fornovo took place 30 km southwest of the city of Parma on 6 July 1495. The League of Venice was able to temporarily expel the French from the Italian Peninsula. It was the first major battle of the Italian Wars.-Antecedents:...
was fought in its territory. The French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
held the city in 1500–1521, with a short Papal parenthesis in 1512–1515. After the foreigners were expelled, Parma belonged to the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
until 1545.
In that year the Farnese pope, Paul III
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
, detached Parma and Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
from the Papal States and gave them as a duchy for his illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese
Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma
Pier Luigi Farnese was the first Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro, from 1545 to 1547.Born in Rome, Pier Luigi was the illegitimate son of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese...
, whose descendants ruled in Parma until 1731, when Antonio Farnese (1679–1731), last male of the Farnese line, died. In the Treaty of London (1718) it was promulgated that the heir to the duchy would be Elisabeth Farnese's elder son with Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
, Don Carlos
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
. In 1731, the fifteen-year-old Don Carlos became Charles I Duke of Parma and Piacenza, at the death of his childless great uncle Antonio Farnese. In 1734, Charles I conquered the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, and was crowned as the King of Naples and Sicily on 3 July 1735, leaving the Duchy of Parma to his brother Philip (Filippo I di Borbone-Parma).
University of Parma
The University of Parma is one of the oldest universities in the world, founded in the 11th century. It is organised in twelve faculties. The University of Parma has currently about 30,000 students.-History:...
enhanced and the Nobles' College founded. The war to reduce the barons' power continued for several years: in 1612 Barbara Sanseverino was executed in the central square of Parma, together with six other nobles charged of plotting against the duke. At the end of the 17th century, after the defeat of Pallavicini (1588) and Landi (1682) the Farnese duke could finally hold with firm hand all Parmense territories. The castle of the Sanseverino in Colorno
Colorno
Colorno is a comune in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 90 km northwest of Bologna and about 15 km north of Parma...
was turned into a luxurious summer palace by Ferdinando Bibiena.
In 1731 the combined Duchy of Parma
Duchy of Parma
The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma....
and Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
was given to the House of Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
in a diplomatic shuffle of the European dynastic politics that were played out in Italy. Under the new rulers, however, it faced a certain decadence. In 1734 all the outstanding art collections of the duke's palaces of Parma, Colorno
Colorno
Colorno is a comune in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 90 km northwest of Bologna and about 15 km north of Parma...
and Sala Baganza
Sala Baganza
Sala Baganza is a comune in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 90 km northwest of Bologna and about 12 km southwest of Parma....
were moved to Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
.
Parma was under French influence after the Peace of Aachen (1748). Parma became a modern state with the energetic action of prime minister Guillaume du Tillot
Guillaume du Tillot
Léon Guillaume Tillot was a French politician infused with liberal ideals of the Enlightenment, who from 1759 was the minister of the Duchy of Parma under Philip, Duke of Parma and his wife Princess Louise-Élisabeth of France...
. He created the bases for a modern industry and fought strenuously against the church's privileges. The city lived a period of particular splendour: the Biblioteca Palatina
Biblioteca Palatina
The Biblioteca Palatina , established in Parma in the year 1761 by Philip Bourbon, Duke of Parma. It is located in Piazzale Pilotta. The Palatina Library was named after Apollus Palatinus.- Collection :...
(Palatine Library), the Archaeological Museum, the Picture Gallery and the Botanical Garden were founded, together with the Royal Printing Works directed by Giambattista Bodoni
Giambattista Bodoni
Giambattista Bodoni was an Italian engraver, publisher, printer and typographer of high repute remembered for designing a family of different typefaces called Bodoni....
.
Contemporary age
During the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
(1802–1814), Parma was part of the Taro Département
Taro (département)
Taro is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy. It was named after the Taro river. It was formed in 1808, when the states of Parma and Piacenza were annexed by France. Its capital was Parma. It was divided into the following arrondissements:* Parma.* Borgo San Donnino...
. Under its French name Parme, it was also created a duché grand-fief de l'Empire for Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance
Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance
Charles-François Lebrun, 1st Duke of Plaisance, prince of the Empire was a French statesman.-Ancien Régime:...
, the Emperor's Arch-Treasurer, on 24 April 1808 (extinguished 1926).
After its restoration by the 1814–15 Vienna Congress, the Risorgimento's upheavals had no fertile ground in the tranquil duchy. In 1847, after Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
Marie Louise of Austria was the second wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and later Duchess of Parma...
's death, it passed again to the Bourbons
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
, the last of whom was stabbed in the city and left it to his Widow, Luisa Maria of Berry. On September 15, 1859 the dynasty was declared deposed, and Parma entered in the newly formed provinces of Emilia under Luigi Carlo Farini
Luigi Carlo Farini
Luigi Carlo Farini was an Italian statesman and historian.-Biography:Farini was born at Russi, in what is now the province of Ravenna....
. With the plebiscite of 1860 the former duchy became part of the unified Kingdom of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
The loss of the capital role provoked an economical and social crisis in Parma. It started to recover its role of industrial prominence after the connection with Piacenza and Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
of 1859, and with Fornovo
Fornovo di Taro
Fornovo di Taro is a comune in the province of Parma, in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 100 km west of Bologna and about 25 km southwest of Parma....
and Suzzara
Suzzara
Suzzara is a comune in the Province of Mantua in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 130 km southeast of Milan and about 20 km south of Mantua...
in 1883. Trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s were strong in the city, in which a famous General Strike was declared from May 1 to June 6, 1908. The struggle with Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
lived its most dramatic moment in the August 1922, when the regime officer Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo was an Italian Blackshirt leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force , Governor-General of Libya, Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa , and the "heir apparent" to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.After serving in...
attempted to enter in the popular quarter of Oltretorrente. The citizens organized into the Arditi del Popolo ("People's assaulters") and pushed back the squadristi. This episode is considered the first example of Resistance in Italy.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Parma was a strong centre of partisan
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
resistance. The train station and marshalling yards were targets for high altitude bombing by the Allies in the spring of 1944. Much of the Palazzo della Pilotta
Palazzo della Pilotta
The Palazzo della Pilotta is a complex of edifices in the historical centre of Parma, in northern Italy. Its name derives from the game of pelota.-History:...
— situated not far (half a mile) from the train station — was destroyed. Along with it also Teatro Farnese
Teatro Farnese
Teatro Farnese is a Baroque-style theatre in Parma, Italy. It was built in 1618 by Giovanni Battista Aleotti. The theatre was almost destroyed by an Allied air raid during World War II...
and part of Biblioteca Palatina were destroyed by Allied bombs. Several other monuments were also damaged: Palazzo del Giardino, Steccata church, San Giovanni church, Palazzo Ducale, Paganini theater and the monument to Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
. However Parma did not see widespread destruction during the war. Parma was liberated of the German occupation (1943–1945) on April 26, 1945 by the partisan resistance and troops of Brazilian Expeditionary Force.
Recently Parma was chosen for the setting of John Grisham
John Grisham
John Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
's American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
comedy Playing for Pizza
Playing for Pizza
Playing for Pizza is a short novel by John Grisham, released on September 25, 2007. The novel is about an itinerant American football player who can no longer get work in the National Football League and whose agent, as a last resort, signs a deal for him to play for the Parma Panthers, in Parma,...
.
Main sights
Churches
- The RomanesqueRomanesque architectureRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
Cathedral houses both 12th century sculpture by Benedetto AntelamiBenedetto AntelamiBenedetto Antelami was an Italian architect and sculptor of the Romanesque school, whose "sculptural style sprang from local north Italian traditions that can be traced back to late antiquity" Little is known about his life. He was probably originally from Lombardy, perhaps born in Val d'Intelvi...
and a 16th century fresco masterpiece by Antonio da CorreggioAntonio da CorreggioAntonio Allegri da Correggio , usually known as Correggio, was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sensuous works of the 16th century...
. - The BaptisteryBaptistery of ParmaThe Baptistery of Parma is a religious edifice in Parma, northern Italy. The baptistery of the Parma Cathedral, it is considered to be the very exact moment of transition between Romanesque and Gothic architecture, and is one of the most important Medieval monuments in Europe.- Description :The...
, adjacent to the cathedral was begun in 1196 by Antelami. - The abbey church of Saint John the Evangelist (San Giovanni Evangelista), was originally constructed in the 10th century behind the Cathedral's apse, but had to be rebuilt in 1498 and 1510 after a fire. It has a late ManneristMannerismMannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
facade and a belltower designed by Simone Moschino), and retains its Latin cross plan, a nave and two aisles. In 1520–1522, Correggio frescoed the dome with the Vision of St. John the Evangelist, a highly influential fresco which heralded illustionistic perspective in the decoration of church ceilings. Bernardo Falconi designed a putto in the high altar. Also the cloisterCloisterA cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
s and the ancient Benedictine grocery are noteworthy. The library has books from the 15th and 16th centuries. - Sanctuary of Santa Maria della SteccataSanctuary of Santa Maria della SteccataThe Shrine of Santa Maria della Steccata is a Greek-cross design Renaissance church in central Parma, Italy.-History:By 1392, the site held a small oratory to shelter a miraculous image of St. John the Baptist and was neighboring a religious confraternity that had an equally miraculous image of the...
. - The Benedictine Monastery of San Paolo, founded in the 11th century. It houses precious frescoes by Correggio, in the so-called Camera di San Paolo (1519–1520), and Alessandro AraldiAlessandro AraldiAlessandro Araldi was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active mainly in Parma.Little is known of his biography. He apparently assisted with contemporary Cristoforo Caselli . His work shows the influences of early Venetian Renaissance painters such as Giovanni Bellini and Vivarini, but also...
. - The Gothic church of San Francesco del Prato (13th century). From Napoleonic era to 1990s it was the city's jail, for which the 16 windows in the facade were opened. The original rose windows (1461) has 16 rays, which, in the medieval tradition, represented the house of God. The Oratory of the Concezione houses frescoes by Michelangelo AnselmiMichelangelo AnselmiMichelangelo Anselmi was an Italian Renaissance-Mannerist painter active mostly in Parma.-Biography:He was born, apparently in Tuscany, perhaps in Lucca, from a Parmesan family. He moved to Siena around 1500, where he is mentioned as painter for the first time in 1511. He was a pupil of Il Sodoma...
and Francesco Rondani. The altarpiece by Girolamo Mazzola BedoliGirolamo Mazzola BedoliGirolamo Mazzola Bedoli was an Italian painter of the Parmesan school of Painting, active in the Mannerist style.Bedoli was born in Parma in a family coming from Viadana...
is now in the National Gallery of Parma. - Church of Santa Croce, dating to the early 12th century. The original edifice, in Romanesque styleRomanesque architectureRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
, had a nave and two aisles with a semicircular apse. This was renovated first in 1415 and again in 1635–1666, with the heightening of the aisles and nave, the addition of a bresbytery, a dome and of the chapel of St. Joseph. The frescoes in the nave (by Giovanni Maria Conti della Camera, Francesco Reti and Antonio Lombardi) date to this period. - Church of San Sepolcro, built in 1275 over a pre-existing religious edifice. The church was largely renovated in 1506, 1603 and 1701, when the side on the Via Emilia was remade in Neoclassicist style. The church has a nave with side chapels. The Baroque bell tower was built in 1616, the cups being finished in 1753. Annexed is the former monastery of the Rrgular Canons of the Lateran, dating to 1493–1495.
- Church of Santa Maria del Quartiere (1604–1619), characterized by a usual hexagonal plan. The cupola is decorated with frescoes by Pier Antonio BernabeiPier Antonio BernabeiPier Antonio Bernabei was an Italian painter also known as Della Casa.A native of Parma, Pier Antonio Bernabei was a follower of the style of Correggio. Among his best-known works is a frescoed view of Paradise on the cupola of Santa Maria del Quartiere...
and his pupils.
Palaces
- The Palazzo della PilottaPalazzo della PilottaThe Palazzo della Pilotta is a complex of edifices in the historical centre of Parma, in northern Italy. Its name derives from the game of pelota.-History:...
(1583). It houses the Academy of Fine Arts with artists of the School of Parma, the Palatine LibraryBiblioteca PalatinaThe Biblioteca Palatina , established in Parma in the year 1761 by Philip Bourbon, Duke of Parma. It is located in Piazzale Pilotta. The Palatina Library was named after Apollus Palatinus.- Collection :...
, the National GalleryGalleria nazionale di ParmaThe Galleria nazionale di Parma is an art gallery in Parma, northern Italy.Painters exhibited include Beato Angelico, Canaletto, Correggio, Sebastiano del Piombo, Guercino, Leonardo da Vinci, Parmigianino, Tintoretto and others.-History:...
, the Archaeological Museum, the Bodoni Museum and the Farnese TheatreTeatro FarneseTeatro Farnese is a Baroque-style theatre in Parma, Italy. It was built in 1618 by Giovanni Battista Aleotti. The theatre was almost destroyed by an Allied air raid during World War II...
. - The Ducal Palace, built from 1561 for Duke Ottavio Farnese on a design by Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola. Built on the former Sforza castle area, it was enlarged in the 17th–18th centuries. It includes the Palazzo Eucherio Sanvitale, with interesting decorations dating from the 16th centuries and attributed to Gianfrancesco d'Agrate, and a fresco by ParmigianinoParmigianinoGirolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola , also known as Francesco Mazzola or more commonly as Parmigianino or sometimes "Parmigiano", was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, Bologna, and his native city of Parma...
. Annexed is the Ducal Park also by Vignola. It was turned into a French-style garden in 1749. - The Palazzo del Comune, built in 1627.
- The Palazzo del Governatore ("Governor's Palace"), dating from the 13th century.
- The Bishop's Palace (1055).
- Ospedale Vecchio ("Old Hospital"), created in 1250 and later renovated in Renaissance times. It is now home to the State Archives and to the Communal Library.
Other
- The Teatro FarneseTeatro FarneseTeatro Farnese is a Baroque-style theatre in Parma, Italy. It was built in 1618 by Giovanni Battista Aleotti. The theatre was almost destroyed by an Allied air raid during World War II...
was constructed in 1618–1619 by Giovan Battista AleottiGiovan Battista AleottiGiovan Battista Aleotti was an Italian architect.Aleotti was born in Argenta. He completed, with the assistance of his pupil Giovanni Battista Magnani, the plan of the Bolognese church of Santa Maria del Quartiere...
, totally in wood. It was commissioned by Duke Ranuccio IRanuccio I Farnese, Duke of ParmaRanuccio I Farnese reigned as Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1592. A firm believer in absolute monarchy, Ranuccio, in 1594, centralised the administration of Parma and Piacenza, thus rescinding the nobles' hitherto vast prerogative...
for the visit of Cosimo I de' Medici. - The Cittadella, a large fortress erected in the 16th century by order of Duke Alessandro FarneseAlexander Farnese, Duke of ParmaAlexander Farnese was Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1586 to 1592, and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592.-Biography:...
, close to the old walls. - The Pons Lapidis (also known as Roman Bridge or Theoderic's Bridge), a Roman structure in stone dating from AugustusAugustusAugustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
reign. - The Orto Botanico di ParmaOrto Botanico di ParmaThe Orto Botanico di Parma, also known as the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Parma, is a botanical garden maintained by the University of Parma. It is located on the Viale Martiri della Libertà, Parma, Italy, and open daily without charge....
is a botanical gardenBotanical gardenA botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
maintained by the University of ParmaUniversity of ParmaThe University of Parma is one of the oldest universities in the world, founded in the 11th century. It is organised in twelve faculties. The University of Parma has currently about 30,000 students.-History:...
. - The Teatro RegioTeatro Regio di ParmaTeatro Regio di Parma is a famous 19th century opera house and opera company in Parma, Italy. The theatre was originally known as the Teatro Ducale....
("Royal Theatre"), built in 1821–1829 by Nicola BettoliNicola BettoliNicola or Niccolò Bettoli was an Italian architect. Born in Parma, he is best known as the designer of the Neoclassicist Teatro Regio of that city, for Duches Marie Louise ....
. It has a Neo-Classical facade and a porch with double window order. It is the city's opera houseOpera houseAn opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
. - The Auditorium Niccolò PaganiniNiccolò PaganiniNiccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...
, designed by Renzo PianoRenzo PianoRenzo Piano is an Italian architect. He is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Kyoto Prize and the Sonning Prize...
. - The Museum House of Arturo ToscaniniArturo ToscaniniArturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
, where the famous musician was born. - Museo LombardiMuseo LombardiThe Museo Lombardi is an art museum in the city of Parma, Emilia-Romagna .The Museum was created by the efforts of Glauco Lombardi , who devoted his entire life to the recovery, study and conservation of all that remained on the antiquary market or in private collections of the enormous artistic...
. It exhibits a prestigious collection of art and historical items regarding Maria LuigiaMarie Louise, Duchess of ParmaMarie Louise of Austria was the second wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and later Duchess of Parma...
of HabsburgHabsburgThe House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
and her first husband Napoleon Bonaparte; important works and documents concerning the Duchy of Parma in the 18th and 19th centuries are also kept by the Museum.
Frazioni
Alberi, Baganzola, Beneceto, Botteghino, Ca'Terzi, Calestani, Carignano, Carpaneto, Cartiera, Casalbaroncolo, Casalora di Ravadese, Casaltone, Case Capelli, Case Cocconi, Case Crostolo, Case Nuove, Case Rosse, Case Vecchie, Casino dalla Rosa, Casagnola, Castelletto, Castelnovo, Cervara, Chiozzola, Coloreto, Corcagnano, Eia, Fontanini, Fontanellato, Gaione, Ghiaiata Nuova, Il Moro, La Catena, La Palazzina, Malandriano, Marano, Marore, Martorano, Molino di Malandriano, Osteria San Martino, Panocchia, Paradigna, Pedrignano, Pilastrello, Pizzolese, Ponte, Porporano, Pozzetto Piccolo, Quercioli, Ravadese, Ronco Pascolo, Rosa, San Prospero, San Ruffino, San Secondo, Sissa, Soragna, Sorbolo, Valera, Viarolo, Viazza, Vicofertile, Vicomero, Vigatto, Vigheffio, Vigolante.Demographics
| ISTAT Istituto Nazionale di Statistica Istituto Nazionale di Statistica is the Italian national statistical institute.-History:Istat was created in 1926 to collect and organize essential data about the nation. Administering the census is one of its activities... 2007 http://demo.istat.it/ |
||
| Parma, Emilia-Romagna | Italy | |
| Median age | 46 years | 42 years |
| Under 18 years old | 14.9% | 18.1% |
| Over 65 years old | 22.9% | 20.0% |
| Foreign Population | 9.1% | 5.8% |
| Births/1,000 people | 8.53 b | 9.45 b |
In 2007, there were 177,069 people residing in Parma located in the province of Parma, Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
, of whom 47.4% were male and 52.6% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 14.87% of the population compared to pensioners who numbered 22.90%. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06% (minors) and 19.94% (pensioners). The average age of a Parma resident is 46 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Parma experienced 6.97% growth, while Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
as a whole grew by 3.56%. The current birth rate of Parma is 8.53 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.
As of 2006, 90.91% of the population was Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
. The largest foreign group came from other parts of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
(namely Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
): 3.61%, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
(namely Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
): 1.86%, and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
: 1.44%. Approximately 17.9% of newborns has at least one parent of foreign origins, compared to the Italian average of 10.3%.
Food and cuisine
Parma is famous for its food and rich gastronomical tradition: Parmigiano ReggianoParmigiano Reggiano
Parmigiano-Reggiano , also known in English as Parmesan , is a hard granular cheese, cooked but not pressed, named after the producing areas near Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, and Bologna , and Mantova , Italy...
cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
(also produced in Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
), Prosciutto di Parma (Parma ham)
Prosciutto
Prosciutto |ham]]) or Parma ham is a dry-cured ham that is usually thinly sliced and served uncooked; this style is called prosciutto crudo in Italian and is distinguished from cooked ham, prosciutto cotto....
. Parma claims several stuffed pasta dishes like "tortelli d'erbetta" and "anolini in broth".
In 2004 Parma was appointed the seat of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
European Food Safety Authority
The European Food Safety Authority is an agency of the European Union that provides independent scientific advice and communication on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain, created by European Regulation 178/2002....
.
Parma also has two food multinationals, Barilla and Parmalat
Parmalat
Parmalat SpA is a multinational Italian dairy and food corporation. Having become the leading global company in the production of ultra high temperature milk, the company collapsed in 2003 with a €14 billion hole in its accounts in what remains Europe's biggest bankruptcy...
and a food tourism sector represented by Parma Golosa and Food Valley.
Twin towns — Sister cities
Parma is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang is the capital and largest city of North China's Hebei province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about south of Beijing...
, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
Milwaukee, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Guadalajara, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Bourg-en-Bresse
Bourg-en-Bresse
Bourg-en-Bresse is a commune in eastern France, capital of the Ain department, and was capital of the former province of Bresse . It is located north-northeast of Lyon.The inhabitants of Bourg-en-Bresse are known as Burgiens.-Geography:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Guadalajara
Guadalajara, Spain
Guadalajara is a city and municipality in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain, and in the natural region of La Alcarria. It is the capital of the province of Guadalajara. It is located roughly 60 km northeast of Madrid on the Henares River, and has a population of 83,789...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Szeged
Szeged
' is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county town of Csongrád county. The University of Szeged is one of the most distinguished universities in Hungary....
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
Moncton, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Stockton
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Sport
Parma F.C.Parma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
was founded in 1913. It is a Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club renowned in Italy and Europe for its successes including three national cups, a European Cup Winner's Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
, two UEFA Cups, a European Supercup and an Italian Supercup. It plays in the city's stade Ennio Tardini
Stadio Ennio Tardini
Stadio Ennio Tardini, commonly referred to as just Il Tardini, is a football stadium in Parma, Italy, located near the centre of Parma, between the town centre and the city walls. It is currently the home of Parma F.C.. The stadium was built in 1923 and was named after one of Parma's former...
which used to host up to 29,000 spectators but is being renovated in 2008 after the club was demoted to Serie B. In spring 2009 the team was promoted again in the top league (Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
).
Parma is also home to two rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
teams in the top national division, Overmach Rugby Parma
Parma Rugby
Rugby Parma F.C. is an Italian rugby union club. They are based in Parma in Emilia-Romagna. They were known as Overmach Rugby Parma for sponsorship reasons.-History:...
and SKG Gran Rugby
Gran Rugby
-GranDucato Parma Rugby:Gran Ducato Parma Rugby was formed in June 2010 through the merger of Gran Parma Rugby, Rugby Colorno and Rugby Viadana. With the formation of Aironi to play in the Magners League the best players and sponsorship from the three participating clubs was concentrated in this...
.
Parma Panthers
Parma Panthers
The Parma Panthers are an American football team based in Parma, Italy. The team was founded in 1980 by Vic Dasaro, an American veterinary student attending university in Parma...
is the Parma American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team for which John Grisham
John Grisham
John Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
's book Playing for Pizza
Playing for Pizza
Playing for Pizza is a short novel by John Grisham, released on September 25, 2007. The novel is about an itinerant American football player who can no longer get work in the National Football League and whose agent, as a last resort, signs a deal for him to play for the Parma Panthers, in Parma,...
was based.
Also volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, women basketball and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
have large popularity in the city and have scored relevant successes.
Transport
Parma railway stationParma railway station
Parma railway station serves the city and comune of Parma, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Opened in 1859, it forms part of the Milan–Bologna railway, and is also a terminus of three secondary railways, linking Piacenza with La Spezia, Sarzana, Piadena, Brescia and Suzzara,...
is on the Milan–Bologna railway.
The Parma trolleybus system
Trolleybuses in Parma
The Parma trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network of the city and comune of Parma, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy...
has been in operation since 1953. It replaced an earlier tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
way network, and presently comprises four trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
routes.
Famous people
Painters and sculptors
- Francesco Mazzola, best known as Il ParmigianinoParmigianinoGirolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola , also known as Francesco Mazzola or more commonly as Parmigianino or sometimes "Parmigiano", was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, Bologna, and his native city of Parma...
, painter - Sisto BadalocchioSisto BadalocchioSisto Badalocchio Rosa was an Italian painter and engraver of the Bolognese School.Born in Parma, he worked first under Agostino Carracci in Bologna, then Annibale Carracci, in Rome. He worked with Annibale till 1609, then moving back to Parma...
, painterPaintingPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is... - Alessandro AraldiAlessandro AraldiAlessandro Araldi was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active mainly in Parma.Little is known of his biography. He apparently assisted with contemporary Cristoforo Caselli . His work shows the influences of early Venetian Renaissance painters such as Giovanni Bellini and Vivarini, but also...
, painter - Michelangelo AnselmiMichelangelo AnselmiMichelangelo Anselmi was an Italian Renaissance-Mannerist painter active mostly in Parma.-Biography:He was born, apparently in Tuscany, perhaps in Lucca, from a Parmesan family. He moved to Siena around 1500, where he is mentioned as painter for the first time in 1511. He was a pupil of Il Sodoma...
, painter born in Tuscany - Giovanni Maria Francesco RondaniGiovanni Maria Francesco RondaniGiovanni Maria Francesco Rondani was an Italian painter of the Parmesan school of painting. He was a near contemporary of Michelangelo Anselmi, and is known to have worked on designs of Antonio da Correggio for the frescoes in the Cappella del Bono of San Giovanni Evangelista of Parma, Italy...
, painter - Girolamo Mazzola BedoliGirolamo Mazzola BedoliGirolamo Mazzola Bedoli was an Italian painter of the Parmesan school of Painting, active in the Mannerist style.Bedoli was born in Parma in a family coming from Viadana...
, painter - Filippo Mazzola, painter
- Antonio da CorreggioAntonio da CorreggioAntonio Allegri da Correggio , usually known as Correggio, was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sensuous works of the 16th century...
(Antonio Allegri), painter born in Correggio (Reggio EmiliaReggio EmiliaReggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
) - Benedetto AntelamiBenedetto AntelamiBenedetto Antelami was an Italian architect and sculptor of the Romanesque school, whose "sculptural style sprang from local north Italian traditions that can be traced back to late antiquity" Little is known about his life. He was probably originally from Lombardy, perhaps born in Val d'Intelvi...
- Giacomo (or Jacopo) Zanguidi ( BertoiaGiacomo ZanguidiJacopo Bertoia, also known as Giacomo Zanguidi or Jacopo Zanguidi or Bertoja, , was an Italian painter of a late-Renaissance or Mannerist style that emerged in Parma towards the end of the 16th century....
) - Giovan Federico Bonzagni
- Amedeo Bocchi
- Bartolomeo SchedoniBartolomeo SchedoniBartolomeo Schedoni was an Italian early Baroque painter from Reggio Emilia.-Biography:He was born in Modena, but moved to Parma with his father. Soon he was sent to be apprenticed under Federico Zuccari in Rome after 1598, with the sponsorship of Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma. He soon...
- Oreste CarpiOreste CarpiOreste Carpi was an Italian deaf painter, engraver and ceramist.-Biography:Oreste Carpi was born in Poviglio, near Reggio Emilia, and received early training in painting at "Paolo Toschi" art school in Parma....
Others
- Giambattista BodoniGiambattista BodoniGiambattista Bodoni was an Italian engraver, publisher, printer and typographer of high repute remembered for designing a family of different typefaces called Bodoni....
, typographerTypographyTypography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters... - Ferdinando PaerFerdinando Paer-Biography:Paer was born at Parma. His father was a trumpeter with the Ducal Bodyguards and also performed at church and court events. His name, Ferdinando, was after Duke Ferdinand of Parma and was given to him by Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria, Duke Ferdinand's wife...
, composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - Giuseppe VerdiGiuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
, opera composer - Arturo ToscaniniArturo ToscaniniArturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
, conductorConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... - Bernardo BertolucciBernardo BertolucciBernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
, director - Giovannino GuareschiGiovannino GuareschiGiovannino Oliviero Giuseppe Guareschi was an Italian journalist, cartoonist and humorist whose most famous creation is the priest Don Camillo.-Life and career:...
, writer - Vittorio BottegoVittorio BottegoVittorio Bottego was an Italian army officer and one of the first Western explorers of Jubaland in the Horn of Africa , where he led two expeditions. Bottego was born in Parma....
, explorer - Attilio BertolucciAttilio BertolucciAttilio Bertolucci was an Italian poet and writer. He is father to film directors Bernardo and Giuseppe Bertolucci.-Biography:...
, poet - Alexander Farnese, Duke of ParmaAlexander Farnese, Duke of ParmaAlexander Farnese was Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1586 to 1592, and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592.-Biography:...
, military commander - Cleofonte CampaniniCleofonte CampaniniCleofonte Campanini was an Italian conductor. His brother was the tenor Italo Campanini.Born in Parma, Campanini studied music at that city's conservatory, making his debut with a performance of Carmen, also in Parma, in 1883...
, conductorConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... - Vittorio AdorniVittorio AdorniVittorio Adorni is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist .-Beginnings:Vittorio Adorni was a talented amateur and showed early talent at riding alone...
, cyclist - Adriano MaloriAdriano MaloriAdriano Malori is an Italian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . He was the Lanterne Rouge of the 2010 Tour de France, finishing almost four and a half hours behind the winner Alberto Contador.- Palmares :...
, cyclist