4 minute read
Wine Country International 2023 Issue V3
24 Hours in Parma, Italy
Story and photography by Christopher Davies
We arrived at Malpensa International Airport in Milan on the 11th of September 2023.
We picked up our rental car from Sicily by Car. It was a practically brand-new Volkswagen SUV. This auto rental company is the most highly rated car rental company serving Milan’s International Airport, with 8.8 out of 10 stars. The all-inclusive (including insurance) rental rate for a VW Trigo (mid-size) automatic for ten days was €800.00/ €80 per day.
The drive from Milan to Parma was almost 3 hours, with a stop at the Autogrill in Milan. Travelers can find these well-situated restaurants with café and convenience stores alongside Italy’s main autostrada. They are clean and ideal for taking a bathroom break and grabbing a snack.
As we neared the exit for Parma, we passed a massive Barilla pasta facility. Parma is one of Italy’s most significant culinary centers. It is famous for producing Parma ham, Prosciutto, Culatello, and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. This walled-in university city is known for its Romanesque architecture. It has 198,000 inhabitants, which makes Parma the second most populated city in Emilia-Romagna, next to Bologna.
Where to Stay:
Hotel Verdi is an elegant 4-star boutique hotel converted from an Art Nouveau villa. The hotel is across the street from the beautiful Ducal Park and just a twenty-minute walk to Parma’s Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral, a nine-hundred-year-old place of art, history, and sacredness.
Where to Eat:
Our hotel concierge recommended several restaurants that were within the walled-in town.
Ristorante La Filoma
We decided to have dinner at Ristorante La Filoma, Parma, which is in the city center down several narrow streets, a half mile from the entrance of the walled city. It claims to produce the best quality cuisine in the oldest restaurant in Parma and is located inside a historic 17th-century building.
The staff are welcoming and eager to describe their signature dishes. The meat and cheese-laden cuisine, wines, and service were outstanding.
• Culatello di Zibello DOP and Parmigiano Reggiano €22.00
This cut of meat is produced by hand and is limited to 50,000 pieces per year, making it more expensive than Prosciutto. Culatello di Zibello is only made in the winter in a very restricted area. “Protected Designation of Origin” PDO version, protected by a particular Consortium and made only in select Parma municipalities near the river Po.
Our platter featured Parma Prosciutto ham and Culatello di Zibello, shaved/ sliced thin, giving the meat a unique texture.
We also tried Fried cake (puffy hollow bread shaped the size of ravioli)
• Parmigiano Reggiano flan with sautéed porcini mushrooms and raw ham crown €15.00
• Parmesan herb tortelli €15.00
• Rosa di Parma (veal fillet) €29.00, Stuffed with raw DOP, Parmigiano Reggiano, and black truffle.
Wines by the glass: Vermentino from Emilia-Romagna €11.00
Bottle: 2020 Rosso di Montalcino €29.00
Ristorante La Filoma- 4.5 Stars
Borgo XX Marzo, 15, 43121 Parma PR
Hours: Opens at noon for lunch or dinner.
Menu: ristorantelafiloma.it
info@lafiloma.it
The following day, we decided to walk through the park into town as it was the shortest, most direct path to the porta entrance into the historic center.
Lunch
Ristorante La Greppia- Excellent, farm-fresh, inspired cuisine
We stumbled across this famous restaurant on Parma’s oldest medieval street, Strada Giuseppe Garibaldi. We were pleasantly surprised with the cooking and later learned that La Greppia is included in the Michelin guide. We enjoyed Tagliolini, Pumpkin, Honey Risotto, and a bottle of Lamoretti Colli di Parma Sauvignon from Emilia-Romagna. €59
Ristorante La Greppia
www.ristorantelagreppia.axeleroweb.it
Our schedule was tight as we were traveling to Bologna and then Piedmont to attend Slow Food Cheese. So, sadly, we did not stay long enough to experience the main attractions that Parma boasts. It has 8 museums Parma boasts that it has eight food museums, a bunch of butcher shops, and meat and cheese stores that offer the best foods from the Parma hit parade. Food Valley Travel and Leisure has been operating tours for twenty years. They have a variety of regional packages (for groups) starting at $225 per person.
