Musei del Cibo della provincia di Parma

The Musei del Cibo della Provincia di Parma is a network of ten museums spread across the Parma territory, stretching from the Po plain to the Apennine foothills, each dedicated to a defining product of one of Italy’s most celebrated food-producing regions. Together, they trace the history, culture, tradition and industrial development of the local food heritage at the heart of what is known as the Food Valley.

The itinerary begins in the lower plain near the Po, where the Museo del Culatello di Zibello is housed within the Antica Corte Pallavicina, and the Museo del Parmigiano Reggiano occupies a former Capuchin church in Fontevivo — the very site where Cistercian monks first produced this renowned cheese following land reclamation. Moving south, the Museo della Pasta and the Museo del Pomodoro share the medieval agricultural complex of the Corte di Giarola near Collecchio, set within a regional river park. Towards the hills, the Museo del Vino is installed in the historic cellars of the Rocca di Sala Baganza, while the Museo del Salame di Felino occupies a fourteenth-century farmstead. The Museo del Prosciutto di Parma is located in the restored former Foro Boario in Langhirano, and the network reaches its highest point in the Apennines, where dedicated museums celebrate the Borgotaro IGP porcini mushroom and the rare black truffle of Fragno.

In the city of Parma itself, a free-access diffuse museum uses QR codes and signposted totems to guide visitors through historical and artistic traces of food culture across the historic centre. Maps are available from the local tourist office.