. PARMA, the chief L. of the province of the same name in Italy, and formerly the capital of the duchy of Parma, is situated on both sides of the river Parma, 12 in. s. from the Po, 75 m. s.e. from Milan, and about the same distance e.n.e. from Genoa, with a pop. '72 of 45,509.
The town is of a circular form, and is surrounded by walls and ditches flanked by bastions; the streets are straight and wide, and meet. at right angles, the chief of them, -a part of the Roman Via tErnilia, crossing the city from c. to w., and dividing it into two nearly equal parts. Parma is celebrated for its churches, 10 in number, ihe chief of which are the Duoino, or cathedral (consecrated 1106 A.D.), built chiefly in the Lom bard style, having the interior adorned with magnificent frescoes by Correggio, and paintings by other artists, and surmounted by a beautiful dome; the Battisterio, or Bap tistery, one of the most splendid in Italy, begim in 1196 and completed in 1281; the church of the .1.1talonna delta Steceata, containing the famous painting of Moses break ing the Tables of the Law" by Parmigianino. The other celebrated buildings are. the
Faruese palace, a gloomy and ill-constructed edifice; the Farnese theater, built (1618-28) of wood, and now in a most dilapidated condition. Parma has also a library containing 120,000 volumes, mostly well selected, and many of them rare and valuable works; a museum of antiquities; a botanic garden; a theater (Teatro Num); an academy of fine arts, founded in 1752, possessing a collection of 600 pictures, many cf which are exceed ingly valuable. The pictures most highly esteemed are the " Madonnas" of Correggio and Francis, the "St. of Correggio, and the "Jesus Glorified" of Raphael.
The manufactures of Parma are stockings, porcelain, sugar, wax-candles, and vessels of crystal, also silk, cotton, and fustian stuffs. The chief exports are cheese and silk goods; and in June there is an annual silk fair.