Parma

A UNESCO City of Gastronomy and home of Parma ham and Parmigiano Reggiano, with Correggio's dome frescoes, the wooden Teatro Farnese and a proud Verdi opera tradition, plus plenty of cheese-dairy, ham-curing and castle tours nearby.

Parma lies in Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, between the Po Valley and the foothills of the Apennines. A UNESCO City of Gastronomy, it is the home of Parma ham and Parmigiano Reggiano, and the hometown of composer Giuseppe Verdi and conductor Arturo Toscanini. The compact old town is easy to explore on foot: Piazza del Duomo with its Romanesque cathedral (and Correggio's dome frescoes) and pink-marble Baptistery; the Palazzo della Pilotta, housing the wooden Teatro Farnese and the Galleria Nazionale; the Teatro Regio; Piazza Garibaldi and the food street Strada Farini; and, across the Parma river on the west bank, the Parco Ducale. The surrounding "Food Valley" is the real highlight: visit a Parmigiano Reggiano dairy early in the morning, watch hams being cured in Langhirano, and taste culatello at an old estate on the banks of the Po. Castle tours take in Torrechiara, Fontanellato, Soragna and Colorno, while a Verdi trail leads to Busseto and Roncole. The climate is continental, with hot, muggy summers and cold, foggy winters; spring and autumn are best, and September–October brings the Verdi Festival and the Prosciutto di Parma Festival. Trains from Milan or Bologna take about 1 hour. The city itself is walkable, but a car or an organized tour is recommended for the castles and producers around it. Plan on 2–3 days.

Top sights

• Parma Cathedral – A 12th-century Romanesque cathedral whose dome fresco, Correggio's Assumption of the Virgin, is sweeping and awe-inspiring, leaving visitor…
• Baptistery of Parma – An octagonal baptistery built of pink Verona marble, a masterpiece of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic.
• Palazzo della Pilotta & Teatro Farnese – The palace complex of the Farnese family, home to the all-wooden Farnese Theatre and the National Gallery.
• Parmigiano Reggiano Dairy & Museum – Start early at a cheese dairy to watch curd form in copper vats and wheels age on shelves, then visit the Solignano museum to learn centuri…
• Teatro Regio di Parma – An opera house built in 1829 by Duchess Marie Louise, and the main venue of the Verdi Festival.
• San Giovanni Evangelista – The Benedictine abbey church directly behind the cathedral, home to Correggio's first dome fresco and an ancient pharmacy.
• Camera di San Paolo – A private room painted by Correggio for the abbess of the convent, with cheerful little angels peeking through the trellis-covered vault.
• Santa Maria della Steccata – A Renaissance church on a Greek-cross plan, with a vault painted by Parmigianino and the tombs of the Farnese and Bourbon dukes beneath.
• Parco Ducale – A French-style ducal garden on the west bank of the Parma River, with tree-lined avenues, statues and an island fountain, a favourite spot…
• Piazza Garibaldi – The main square of central Parma, with the Governor's Palace clock tower facing the town hall, lined with cafés and lively in the evening.
• Strada Farini – Parma's liveliest food street, lined with delis, wine bars and small trattorias, and busy with aperitivo crowds in the evening.
• Toscanini's Birthplace – The birthplace of the legendary conductor Toscanini, displaying his scores, batons and personal belongings.
• Museo Glauco Lombardi – A refined museum showcasing the court life of Duchess Marie Louise of Parma, Napoleon's second wife.
• Labirinto della Masone – The world's largest bamboo maze, with a pyramid-shaped chapel at its centre, plus publisher Franco Maria Ricci's art collection.
• Rocca Sanvitale (Fontanellato) – A moated castle surrounded by water, with Parmigianino's Diana and Actaeon frescoes inside and a 16th-century camera obscura.
• Rocca Meli Lupi (Soragna) – A castle palace still home to the princely family, with its Baroque halls and English-style garden splendidly preserved
• Langhirano Prosciutto Valley – The heart of Parma ham production, with a ham museum, drying workshops and the chance to taste freshly sliced ham
• Torrechiara Castle – A 15th-century castle on a hilltop, whose Golden Room frescoes tell a love story, overlooking vineyards and the land of ham
• Reggia di Colorno – A ducal summer palace known as the 'Little Versailles', with about 400 rooms and a French-style garden, next to Italy's internationally ren…
• Busseto & Teatro Verdi – The small town where Verdi grew up, with the exquisite Teatro Verdi and Casa Barezzi telling the story of the composer's youth
• Verdi's Birthplace (Roncole Verdi) – The rural inn cottage where Verdi was born in 1813, with multimedia displays telling of his childhood and rise to fame
• Antica Corte Pallavicina – A 14th-century castle estate on the Po River, where culatello, the 'king of hams', cures in the cellars and can be visited and tasted
• Fidenza Cathedral – A Romanesque cathedral on the Via Francigena pilgrimage route, its façade vividly and exquisitely carved by the Antelami workshop
• Salsomaggiore Terme & Terme Berzieri – A hilltop spa town known for its iodine-rich brine waters, where the Liberty-style Berzieri Thermal Palace is richly decorated and offers s…
• Castell'Arquato – A medieval hilltop village with a well-preserved town square, castle and collegiate church, and one of Italy's most beautiful villages
• Castello di Bardi – A thousand-year-old fortress towering over red jasper rock, the most magnificent castle in the Parma Apennines
• Canossa Castle – The site of the 1077 'Walk to Canossa', where Emperor Henry IV stood barefoot in the snow to beg the Pope's forgiveness; the hilltop ruins…

Where to eat

• Ristorante Cocchi – A Parma institution opened in 1925, famous for its handmade pasta, anolini in broth, and boiled meat trolley.
• Trattoria Ai Due Platani – A Michelin Bib Gourmand country trattoria, highlighting handmade pasta, aged cured hams, and ice cream made with a vint…
• Trattoria Corrieri – A bustling, traditional trattoria in the heart of the old town, highly popular for its torta fritta with cured ham, thr…
• Inkiostro – A one-Michelin-starred restaurant in Parma, featuring high-end creative dishes by a Calabrian chef who blends a French…
• Pepèn – A classic, long-standing sandwich shop in Parma, famous for standing-room-only horse meat panini and the highly sought-…
• Osteria del 36 – An historic tavern dating back to 1880, named after the original price of 36 cents per liter of wine, renowned for its…

Itineraries

• Bologna to Parma Food Valley – Travel along the Via Emilia by train to feast through Bologna, Modena, and Parma, with a side trip to the Ferrari Museu…