Its rich history is witness to all in the charming historic core of the city center that welcomes visitors and citizens in a refined atmosphere of small capital.
Renowned for art and music, Parma is an elegant city, open and hospitable situated along the Via Emilia, between the Apennines and the Po Valley, and crossed by the river, a tributary of the Po. The city is known in Italy and worldwide for the quality of life that always places high in the rankings of cities in which to reside. The name of Parma is also linked to renowned culinary traditions, taste for fine food and quality, excellent products such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto. Moreover, the city is in a strategic position that allows you to easily reach tourist destinations, cultural and maritime.
Founded in 183 BC, Parma in 1545 became an autonomous state under the rule of the Farnese family, who ruled until 1731, when they took over the Bourbons. During these years, Parma became a reference point for many painters and writers, enriching itself at the same time works of great artistic value. Its rich history is all documented in the charming historic core of the city center that welcomes visitors and citizens in a refined atmosphere of small capital. The historic center of Parma is marked by three major poles: Garibaldi Square, the center of communal life; Piazza Duomo, where lie the greatest expressions of artistic-religious; and Piazza della Pilotta, today Piazzale della Pace, symbol of ducal power.
Its great historical and cultural tradition reflects in a series of monuments scattered around the city and its immediate surroundings, among which are two of the most interesting monuments of Italy: the Cathedral dedicated to the Assumption, a splendid example of Romanesque art enriched with precious paintings and frescoes as those of Correggio's Dome and others attributed to Parmigianino and Antelami; and the Baptistery, building symbol of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic, in which are to be reported thirteenth-century Byzantine frescoes, which clothe the dome, and especially the twelve statues depicting the months, due largely to Antelami. Among other Religious architecture should be delivered: the Church of SS Annunziata, one of the most significant monuments of Mannerism's experimental second half of the sixteenth century; the Church of Our Lady of Steccata, among the most significant examples of the Italian Renaissance; the Church of St. John the Evangelist, with magnificent frescoes of Correggio and Parmigianino; and the Church of San Vitale, one of the oldest of the old town, inside which you can admire valuable works of great Italian artists.
