Parma is the first Italian city to have been named by UNESCO as a Creative City for Gastronomy and will be the Italian Capital of Culture in 2020. YetParma has always been beautiful. People visit it for the taste of its products, the style of its cuisine, and the authenticity of its traditions.
People admire it for its masterpieces of art which, between the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Baroque periods, have shaped its forms. One never tires of her—this petite capitale made great by the Duchess Maria Luigia. From spring to autumn, a series of guided tours, in Italian and English with discounted prices for children and teenagers, have been designed to let visitors discover the many aspects of the ducal city. The tours can also be booked last minute at the Iat in Piazza Garibaldi and last either half a day or a whole day. From food to art, from cycling—yes, even e-bikes—to cooking classes, Parma can’t wait to enchant once more those willing to dedicate a bit of time and heart to her.
Tour of Parma
A walk through the center, an aperitif in the most beautiful squares, or a stroll with Maria Luigia, duchess between 1816 and 1847. These are three city experiences to discover downtown Parma. Just two hours are enough—every day from 11 am (on Saturdays also at 3.30 pm)—for a delightful taste of beauty while visiting the cathedral and baptistery, the treasures that for centuries have put Parma in all the art history books. Antelami and his sculptures, Correggio and his bold colors: the Parma city tour explores the ancient heart of the city.
At dusk, there’s the Unusual Aperitif which, from square to square, leads you to discover the most authentic flavors of the city, culminating in a rich sampling of local products. Piazza Garibaldi, La Steccata with its Greek cross church and the statue of Parmigianino, the Pilotta with Palazzo Farnese and the monument to Giuseppe Verdi, as well as the Teatro Regio: these are the highlights of the two-hour tour discovering the city’s must-sees.
The appointment with Maria Luigia, as befits a lady of nobility, is every Saturday afternoon for a Dolce Sweet Tour: you’ll meet the city’s signora at the Glauco Lombardi museum. The exhibition brings together public and private memorabilia that tells the story of an enlightened woman and protagonist in the politics of the era, not only as Napoleon’s wife, but also as a refined patron of the arts. After the tour, there’s a stop to taste the sweets the duchess brought from Paris, which are still appreciated in the city today: delicious sweet green tortelli.
TASTYBUS THROUGH PARMA’S FOOD VALLEY
From the city to the countryside, you travel by bus—more precisely, by Tastybus—to discover the secrets of Italy’s richest Food Valley, where a fifth of the country’s PDO and PGI products are made. There are two options available daily, except Sundays: the morning food and tasting tour, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, condenses all the flavors of Parma, focusing on the city’s two main “P’s.” Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano Reggiano reign supreme at the table, and the tour lets you discover all the secrets of how they are made, visiting a ham factory and a cheese dairy.
With three additional hours, the tour extends its magic until 4:30 pm for a more in-depth look at Emilia’s temptations. After a morning among dairies and ham factories, lunch in a trattoria, followed by a visit to a characteristic acetaia, where the precious Traditional Balsamic Vinegar matures slowly.
HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS: LANDS OF FLAVOR
There are the highlands, where Prosciutto di Parma matures, or the lowland fields where Culatello di Zibello is aged. And also Parmigiano Reggiano, the king of cheeses and the undisputed lord of this Food Valley, and Traditional Balsamic Vinegar, neighbor in both location and quality. For those wanting to discover these highlands, the days to mark in your calendar are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. You travel in comfortable minivans, admiring the gentle hills rolling toward the Apennines with The Highlander tour, which includes three stops of flavor: Parmigiano Reggiano, Traditional Balsamic Vinegar, and Prosciutto di Parma. It starts with a visit to a historic cheese dairy, family run since 1846, to learn about the production process of the cheese envied around the world. After the visit, the next stop and tasting are at a vinegar producer in the Reggio area to sample that nectar-like vinegar—a precious pairing for many dishes on the Italian table. Visiting a hillside ham factory concludes the full immersion in the goodness and beauty of Parma’s products.
If you prefer to discover the lowlands, caressed by the river breeze, there’s the The Lowlander tour, which, every Wednesday and Friday aboard a very comfortable minibus, offers five flavorful stops: a cheese dairy, a black pig farm, a visit to the museum dedicated to Culatello di Zibello—with its medieval aging cellars—as well as an experiential route along the Po River. The Lower Plains are full of surprises: the dairy here is one of the oldest still operating and also hosts a cow and racehorse stable. To learn about Culatello, one of the world’s most beloved PDO products, the right place is the Antica Corte Pallavicina of the Spigaroli family, a favorite with England’s royal family, who come here every year for this delicious cured meat. The tour also lets you discover other typical products such as Salame Gentile, Spigaroli Lard and Cooked Ham, but above all Strolghino di Culatello, a “mini” salami—small in shape but intense in flavor—made from Culatello trimmings. To complete the experience, there’s the “Po Forest” path, letting you immerse yourself in the magical habitat of the great river. The tour doesn’t miss any local excellence: that’s why, in the afternoon, thanks to a voucher with a 10% discount, it’s possible to make a stop at the Fidenza Village outlet, where you can satisfy your appetite for shopping as well.
A CASTLE OF LOVE
From food for the table to food for the soul is just a short step, and in Parma, it takes the form of a romantic castle, like Torrechiara, a 15th-century manor built by Pier Maria Rossi for his beloved Bianca Pellegrini. He was a wise and capable lord, governing the surrounding lands methodically. He also had the soul of an enlightened intellectual of his time. The frescoes and refined decorations of this castle, also chosen by Hollywood for the film Ladyhawke, tell their story. Love is food for the soul, and so Parma celebrates this great tale with Food from Love, a dedicated tour departing from Piazza Leoni in Torrechiara, leading to the castle, its estates, and artistic treasures. Among the stops on the tour are visits to local dairies and cured meat factories, as well as a rich tasting in the old village that surrounds the castle, among artisan shops where time seems to have stood still.
Yes—eating. Or rather, tasting. And then, cycling. The Tastybike food and wine tour combines the flavor of Parma’s true Food Valley with the pleasure of a ride through a picturesque landscape. Departing from Parma by minibus, Monday to Saturday, and then equipped with an e-bike, you climb the peaks of flavor and art in this patch of Emilia, accompanied by a tour guide. Hills, vineyards, and many scenic stops are the main ingredients of this half-day on two wheels, enriched with gourmet stops before heading back to the city.
COOKING LESSON
It’s never too late to learn to cook Parmigiano—not just to eat well and healthy, as is always the case in this corner of the Food Valley. The Tastycook, every afternoon from 4 to 6 pm except weekends, is a hands-on experience for learning to cook and uncover the secrets of Parmesan cuisine. A local chef will teach you how to prepare the renowned tortelli d’erbetta—the traditional stuffed pasta with ricotta and Swiss chard—and fresh tagliatelle using local ingredients. After all the effort, the reward is even more delicious: you’ll get to taste what you prepared, accompanied by a local wine, for an authentic Italian experience—between doughs, pans, appetite, and good cheer.
For bookings, even last minute: Iat Parma tel. 0521218889 – turismo@comune.parma.it
