Parma is the capital of the region of Emilia-Romagna in Italy and a city known on the one hand for interesting monuments, and on the other for excellent cuisine. This is where the famous Parma ham and Parmesan cheese originate. Parma impresses with its elegance, wide avenues and numerous Renaissance and Baroque palaces that were built during the rule of the Farnese family.
Although the beginnings of Parma probably date back to the times of the Etruscans, there are very few monuments from the antiquity period. The most important of them is the Roman bridge dating to the reign of Emperor Augustus.
The most important monument of Parma is the Romanesque cathedral built at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries with a slightly later, 13th century belfry. In its immediate vicinity there is an octagonal Baptistery. The interior of the cathedral was decorated in the 16th century with illusionist paintings by Parma-born one of the main representatives of the mature Renaissance, Antonio Allegri da Correggio.
Around the cathedral stretches the Old Town full of medieval, Renaissance and Baroque tenements, churches and palaces. Today, many of them have restaurants, cafes and shops, and the city squares are full of café gardens.
Noteworthy are the Parma palaces built during the Renaissance and Baroque periods during the reign of the Farnese family. The most important of them is the Palazzo della Pilotta from the late 16th century, which today houses the Academy of Fine Arts, the National Gallery and the Bodoni Museum. In the palace you can also admire the Farnese Theater, made entirely of wood. The second of the important palaces of Parma is the Prince's Palace surrounded by gardens, whose interior is decorated with frescoes of another of the great Parma painters, Parmigianino.
