Country Italy Capital(s) Parma Time zone CET (UTC+1) | Region Emilia-Romagna Comuni 47 | |
 | ||
Postal code 43010-43015
43017-43019
43021-43022
43024-43025
43028-43030
43032
43035-43045
43047
43049-43053
43055
43058-43059
43100 | ||
The Province of Parma (Italian: Provincia di Parma) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its largest town and capital is the city of Parma.
Contents
Map of Province of Parma, Italy
It is made up of 47 sub-divisions called comuni, which have their own elected sindaco (mayor), legislative body and executive body. It has an area of 3,449 square kilometres (1,332 sq mi) and a total population of about 475,000.
The province is enclosed by the Province of Reggio Emilia to the east, the Piacenza to the west, Lombardy's provinces of Cremona and Mantova to the north and Liguria's provinces of Spezia and Genoa.
It was to be merged with the Province of Piacenza in 2014 to form the Province of Parma-Piacenza.
History
In 1861, Italian provinces were established on the French republican model.
Italian Fascism saw the end of elections in the Province of Parma in the 1920s until the end of the Second World War.
In October 2012, it was confirmed that the Province of Parma would be merged with the Province of Piacenza in 2014 to become the Province of Piacenza and Parma, despite controversy over the chosen name. However, its name was altered to the Province of Parma–Piacenza in the following month.
Geography
The province is divided into three zones from north to south: the pianura (plains), the collina (hills) and the montagna (mountains). The first of these is surrounded by the Po. The main centres of the collina and montagna are situated along the course of the main rivers, which descend from the Parmesan Apennine Mountains.
Comuni
The Province of Parma comprises 47 comuni. The 20 largest of these are:
Cuisine
Parma is famous for its Prosciutto di Parma. The whole area is renowned for its sausage production, as well as for the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and some kinds of pasta like gnocchi di patate, cappelletti (or anolini) in brodo, tortelli with different stuffing (erbetta, potatoes, pumpkin, mushrooms, chestnuts, Tortél Dóls di Colorno) and chicche.
Highways
There are two main highways that go through Parma: A1 and A15.
Airport
The Province of Parma is served by the Giuseppe Verdi Airport.
Railways
The province is crossed by the Milan-Bologna railroad, one of the most important in Italy, with a station in Parma. The latter is the starting point for the following lines, connecting the city to the Tyrrhenian Sea, Alps and the Po River delta:
The station of Fidenza is an exchange point for the lines:
Sport
Parma F.C. was founded in 1913. It is a Serie A football club renowned in Italy and Europe for its successes including three national cups, a European Cup Winner's Cup, two UEFA Cups, a European Supercup and an Italian Supercup. It plays in the city's stade Ennio Tardini which used to host up to 29,000 spectators but is being renovated in 2008 after the club was demoted to Serie B. In spring 2009 the team was promoted again in the top league (Serie A). Crociati Noceto play in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione, the fourth tier.
Parma is also home to two rugby union teams in the top national division, Overmach Rugby Parma and SKG Gran Rugby.
Parma Panthers is the Parma American football team for which John Grisham's book Playing for Pizza was based.
Also volleyball, women basketball and baseball have large popularity in the city and have scored relevant successes.