Culture and cuisine go hand in hand in Parma – but tourists are surprisingly few

Sarah Lane

6 January 2025 at 9:00 am·6-min read

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese in Parma — Parmigiano Reggiano cheese originates in Parma

Home to such global favourites as Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and prosciutto, Parma is a food lover’s paradise, the heart of Italy’s “Food Valley” and officially recognised by Unesco as a city of gastronomy. And there’s plenty to entice beyond the dinner table – this cultured city of art and music has an innate elegance and authentic atmosphere. Curiously, however, it gets just a fraction of the tourists that flock to the likes of Florence and Venice. Head there in 2025, before the secret gets out.

Art and architecture

Central Parma is compact, and its streets and piazzas are easily explored on foot. Its numerous delis, with enticing displays and aromas, are dotted throughout the city, interspersed with churches, theatres and other eye-catching monuments.

Piazza Duomo is dominated by the city’s striking Romanesque cathedral and towering octagonal baptistery in pink Verona marble. Both buildings feature narrow colonnaded loggias outside and striking works inside: most notably the swirling Assumption of the Virgin, by local Renaissance artist Correggio, decorating the cathedral dome, and, in the monumental baptistry, an evocative series of sculptures by Benedetto Antelami, also the building’s architect.

The nave of the cathedral of Parma, Italy — The nave of the cathedral of Parma - Julian Elliott Photography

Room with a view

Almost rubbing shoulders with the baptistry is Palazzo Dalla Rosa Prati, a medieval building that makes a perfect base for exploring Parma. Many of the apartments and rooms are furnished with items from previous generations of the Dalla Rosa Prati family, who have owned the building since the 15th century and still live here. The views are memorable (from room five you can see through the baptistry windows to the frescoes inside) and the palazzo’s courtyard has a vast wisteria. Exhibitions are held on the ground floor and there’s a shop selling food and perfumes.

Temple of music

Perhaps even more significant to Parma residents than the city’s cathedral is Teatro Regio, a theatre built in the early 19th century by Marie-Louise, the second wife of Napoleon and Duchess of Parma for more than three decades. She’s held dearly to this day for her public building works and general gentrifying influence that shaped the city’s character, and her passion for violets led to the city’s famous fragrances. Opera, concerts and dance performances are held at the theatre, and locals queue enthusiastically for tickets, especially for the autumn festival dedicated to Verdi, another local figure with hero status. Theatre tours (daily except Mondays) give fascinating insights into Parma’s history and culture.

Teatro Regio interior — Teatro Regio is considered by opera buffs to be one of the true homes of the great Italian tradition

Say cheese

Directly opposite the theatre, Casa del Parmigiano Reggiano is a good place to try, and buy, Parma’s most famous product. The small store is chock-full of cheeses from across the Parmigiano Reggiano production area. For a deeper dive, visit a cheese dairy (bookings at parmigianoreggiano.com). Be prepared for an early start to see procedures that have changed little since medieval monks first perfected them. Traditional equipment is used, ingredients are limited to locally produced milk, rennet and salt, and everything is done by hand, even hefting the 50kg (8st) wheels from the vat using strips of linen.

Often called the "King of Cheeses," Parmigiano Reggiano is so valuable in Italy that wheels of it are used as collateral for bank loans — Often called the “king of cheeses,” Parmigiano Reggiano is so valuable in Italy that wheels of it are used as collateral for bank loans

Castles and wine

Any out-of-town excursion should include a castle – there are more than 30 between Parma and neighbouring Piacenza, once part of Parma’s duchy. The most scenic is fairy-tale Torrechiaro castle at Langhirano, the heart of prosciutto production south of Parma; nearby Sala Baganza’s majestic castle hosts a wine museum, one of a circuit of food-themed attractions. Each May, a wine festival is held here, dedicated to the local white variety Malvasia di Candia Aromatica. For more of Parma’s wines, visit a winery such as Monte delle Vigne, which has stunning panoramic views, or Oinoe, also with accommodation. Both make excellent malvasia, and Oinoe’s range includes a delicious amphora-fermented version first made as an experiment for Ristorante al Castello, a lovely restaurant combining contemporary and tradition in both dishes and décor, opposite the impressive 12th-century Montechiarugolo castle.

Pair Parma's castles with its treasures of Malvasia wine from local wineries and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for the perfect taste of the region — Pair Parma’s castles with its treasures of malvasia wine from local wineries and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for the perfect taste of the region

Into the Food Valley

Due to open in spring 2025, with a design building integrated into a landscaped garden at the Mutti tomato factory, is Quisimangia, a staff canteen by day that will switch to fine dining in the evenings. The 125-year-old firm, a European leader for tomato-based products, is still run by the Mutti family and is committed to sustainability in all fields, even down to the restaurant flooring made from discarded tomato skins.

Another of Parma’s family-run food firms made good is Barilla, founded in 1877 by Pietro Barilla, now a household name and the world’s top pasta producer. The original premises in central Parma is now an interesting multisensorial visitor centre, Bottega Barilla (Friday-Sunday).

Now a household name and the world's top pasta producer, the original Barilla premises is an interesting multisensorial visitor centre — Now a household name and the world’s top pasta producer, the original Barilla premises is an interesting visitor centre - Giampaolo Rico

Diners in Parma are spoilt for choice, as quality is high. Most menus include traditional pasta dishes such as cappelletti in brodo (meat or cheese-filled pasta in broth) or tortelli alle erbette (filled with ricotta and greens) and platters of charcuterie – don’t miss the fragrant coppa and culatello served with torta fritta (doughy pillows). One common speciality, cavallo pesto, is actually horse-meat tartare.

Pass the prosciutto

While Strada Farini has a dense concentration of deli-restaurants and wine bars, including low-key Enoteca Fontana, the place to eat for prosciutto purists is Ruliano Perex Suctum con Heinz Beck, a contemporary restaurant and cocktail bar owned by the Montali family, artisan producers of superior-quality Parma hams, Ruliano. The menu, created by executive chef, three-Michelin-starred Heinz Beck, has intriguing seasonal combinations such as pasta with root vegetable ragout or pomegranate-marinated chicory with goat’s cheese.

Garibaldi's Square in Parma — Garibaldi’s Square in Parma - iStockphoto

The central location is exceptional, next to the Renaissance Santa Maria della Steccata church, which has magnificent 16th-century frescoes by Parmigianino, the Parma-born artist who spent two months in prison for not having finished them all. One work that Parmigianino did complete is his celebrated Turkish Slave portrait, actually a noblewoman. See it at the National Gallery within the Palazzo della Pilotta museums complex, which also hosts the 17th-century wooden Farnese theatre, where spectacular video-mapping brings the past to life.