The town of Parma was founded in 183 D.C. by a Trinvirate of  Romans leading 2 thousand heads of families.
When the Roman Empire collapsed, Parma was sacked by Attila, king of the Goths: Then it was partially reconstructed by Theodoric, and later on, by the Byzantines and the Longobards.In 773 the town was occupied by Charlemagne and became a Carolingian Countee.

In the thirteen century Parma acquired the state of a free independent Commune. During this period, the antipope Honorius the Second started the construction ot the town Cathedral. It was then passed under the sovereignty of Milan, France and the Papal States.

In 1545, Pope Paul the Second gave the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza to his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese, whose descendants ruled it more or less continuously until 1731. During this period many famous artists, such as Correggio and Parmigianino, worked in Parma.

In 1748 the Duchy passed under the sovereignty of the Bourbon. In this period neo-classic architecture flourished.

In 1801 Parma was annexed by Napoleon, and after his fall, it was put under his wife Maria Luisa of Austria until 1847, when it was returned to the Bourbon. Under the reign of Maria Luisa of Austria the famous Teatro Regio was built, and many other works of modernisation of the town where carried out.

In 1860 Parma finally became part of the Italian State.
In the following years, Parma specialised in the food and glass industries, for which it became famous after the first world war. In fact Parma today has many important Italian alimentary industries as Barilla and Parmalat.

Parma is also the seat of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and held important alimentary exhibitions, like Cibus, Cibus Tech, ecc.

Important art events, such as the annual Verdi Festival, take place every year, and it is situated very near to the bed &  breakfast Al Battistero d'Oro.

There are also many other musical festivals.

A recent discovery of original documents has proved that the Parma University is older than Bologna and thus the oldest in the world.