Parma, << PAHR muh >> (pop. 196,655), is a city in northern Italy. It lies about 75 miles (121 kilometers) southeast of Milan, in the region of Emilia-Romagna. Parma was founded as a Roman colony in 183 B.C. Its main cathedral dates from the A.D. 1000’s. In 1534, the artist Correggio painted a large fresco, Assumption of the Virgin, in the central cupola (dome). A fresco is a painting made on damp plaster with water-based pigments. Correggio’s work is considered a masterpiece (see Correggio).
The University of Parma is one of the world’s oldest universities. The original school was founded in the 1000’s, becoming a university in 1502. The city’s Farnese Theater, made entirely of wood, opened in 1628. The Teatro Regio (Royal Theater) opened in 1829 and is the city’s opera house.
The duchy of Parma became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Parma was a center of antifascist resistance during World War II (1939-1945), when Allied bombing did considerable damage to the city.
The famed composer Giuseppe Verdi was born in Le Roncole, near Parma. The orchestra conductor Arturo Toscanini was born in Parma, as was the motion-picture director Bernardo Bertolucci. The agricultural area around Parma is famous for Parmesan cheese and prosciutto (dry-cured ham).
See also Bertolucci, Bernardo; Toscanini, Arturo; Verdi, Giuseppe.
