PARMA UNESCO CREATIVE CITY OF GASTRONOMY
Parma is the first Italian city designated UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
Parma has always been a Capital of Food: it is located in the heart of the Italian Food Valley, in the Emilia-Romagna region, the European region with the highest number of PDO and PGI products defined by Forbes “Italy’s greatest gastronomic treasure”.
The geographic location and the culture of the city of Parma have allowed, over the centuries, the production of excellent products, the development of important industries and technologies for the preservation of food and the development of a true Culture of Food .
The agro-food sector is represented in Parma and its territory through the whole food chain: typical products and their protection Consortia, renowned and starred restaurants and chefs, Italian cuisine teachers, food museums, research and food safety, agro-food industries, cultural and educational projects, events and international, national and local exhibitions.
UNESCO’s designation is neither a label nor a prize, it is the implementation of a model of urban development that treasures the strength of the city, what makes it famous in the world: fine food, as the symbol of an entire community.
To achieve this important result Parma didn’t have to “invent” anything, but rather had to systematize what it had developed over time in terms of experience, stories, know-how, making it the keystone of its growth and of its launch beyond geographical and cultural boundaries, a bridge towards the future.
“There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children” Pulitzer price William Hodding Carter wrote: “One of these is roots, the other wings”.
About the creative city of Parma