The Municipalities

Parma, a city of grand cultural traditions, both aristocratic and popular, abounding in priceless works of art and prestigious monuments that range from Romanesque to the Liberty style. With its past as capital of the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, marked by the enlightened government of Marie Louise, Napoleon’s wife, and by the fame of its illustrious children and the artists who lived and worked there – from Benedetto Antelami to Salimbene, from Correggio to Parmigianino, from Bodoni to Verdi and Toscanini, from Stendhal to Proust – Parma is quite unlike any of the other numerous beautiful cities that attract visitors to Italy. Today, it has 170,000 inhabitants. Halfway between Milan and Bologna, it is easy to reach by motorway or railway. The Province has an overall population of about 400,000 inhabitants and is characterised by extensive, delightful mountainous areas studded with castles.  Parma is known as the capital of “Food Valley” and is the very symbol of Italian food and food tradition thanks to its unique, world-famous products such as Parma Ham, deli meats and its renowned Parmesan Cheese.

Meeting place and crossroads between the plains and mountains of the Parma area, the Municipality of Langhirano sits amongst hills covered in vines: at the foot stands out Torrechiara castle, long aplace of mystery and legend, as well as the location for such acclaimed films as Ladyhawke. Langhirano is the seat of the Parma Ham and Deli Meats Museum, which is located in the former Cattle Market and offers a visit itinerary that shows the production of the cherished products that have made Langhirano and the city of Parma world famous for their culinary art. From the Langhirano hills, you can leave for long trekking tours along the crest of the mountain that separates the two valleys of the rivers Parma and Baganza, as well as for pleasant mountain-bike rides.

Medesano has ancient origins, lost in the mists of time, in a land where water and hills mingle giving rise to particularly fascinating surroundings. Pre-history too has left its unmistakable traces: in fact remains have been found from the Neolithic period, both in the town and scattered across the neighbouring land. Medesano lies almost in the centre of the province, where the landscape, which offers stunning panoramas, gradually passes from the plain to the first spurs of the Apennines, with woods, gullies, glades, farmland and reserves. Lying along the Via Francigena, there are many trips to be made by bike or on foot, in the midst of nature. Sant’Andrea Bagni, one of the five hamlets near Medesano, has been known for decades as the “Switzerland of Parma”: the site of a spa, it offers eight types of water, each one with different curative properties. Sitting in the middle of the greenery of its hills, Sant’Andrea is an ideal place to relax and heal your mind and body, far from the stress of everyday life.