[3] The "terramare" (marl earth) were ancient villages built of wood on piles according to a defined scheme and squared form; constructed on dry land and generally in proximity to the rivers.

It was then part of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna (changing its name to Chrysopolis, "Golden City", probably due to the presence of the imperial treasury) and, from 569, of the Lombard Kingdom of Italy.

During the Middle Ages, Parma became an important stage of the Via Francigena, the main road connecting Rome to Northern Europe; several castles, hospitals and inns were built in the following centuries to host the increasing number of pilgrims who passed by Parma and Fidenza, following the Apennines via Collecchio, Berceto and the Corchia ranges before descending the Passo della Cisa into Tuscany, heading finally south toward Rome.

Like most northern Italian cities, it was nominally a part of the Holy Roman Empire created by Charlemagne, but locally ruled by its bishops, the first being Guibodus.

Two of its bishops became antipopes: Càdalo, founder of the cathedral, as Honorius II; and Guibert, as Clement III.

An almost independent commune was created around 1140; a treaty between Parma and Piacenza of 1149 is the earliest document of a comune headed by consuls.

Parma's territories were an exception for Northern Italy, as its feudal subdivision frequently continued until more recent years.

There was also an important Jesuit college in Parma: it was the largest owned by the order in the entire region of Emilia-Romagna and it acquired a strong reputation in the scientific field, given that Fathers Giuseppe Biancani, Niccolò Cabeo and Mario Bettinus, all members of the order, taught there.

[10] The war to reduce the barons' power continued for several years: in 1612 Barbara Sanseverino was executed in the central square of Parma, together with six other nobles charged of plotting against the duke.

At the end of the 17th century, after the defeat of Pallavicini (1588) and Landi (1682) the Farnese duke could finally hold with firm hand all Parmense territories.

In the Treaty of London (1718) it was promulgated that the heir to the combined Duchy of Parma and Piacenza would be Elisabeth Farnese's elder son with Philip V of Spain, Don Carlos.

In 1731, the fifteen-year-old Don Carlos became Charles I Duke of Parma and Piacenza, at the death of his childless great uncle Antonio Farnese.

All the outstanding art collections of the duke's palaces of Parma, Colorno and Sala Baganza were moved to Naples.

Parma became a modern state with the energetic action of prime minister Guillaume du Tillot.

The city lived a period of particular splendour: the Biblioteca Palatina (Palatine Library), the Archaeological Museum, the Picture Gallery and the Botanical Garden were founded, together with the Royal Printing Works directed by Giambattista Bodoni, aided by the Amoretti Brothers as skilled and inspired punchcutters.

In 1847, after Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma's death, it passed again to the House of Bourbon, the last of whom was stabbed in the city and left it to his widow, Luisa Maria of Berry.

On 15 September 1859 the dynasty was declared deposed, and Parma entered the newly formed province of Emilia under Luigi Carlo Farini.

It started to recover its role of industrial prominence after the railway connection with Piacenza and Bologna of 1859, and with Fornovo and Suzzara in 1883.

The struggle with Fascism had its most dramatic moment in August 1922, when the regime officer Italo Balbo attempted to enter the popular quarter of Oltretorrente.

The train station and marshalling yards were targets for high altitude bombing by the Allies in the spring of 1944.

Along with it the Teatro Farnese and part of the Biblioteca Palatina were destroyed by Allied bombs; some 21,000 volumes of the library's collection were lost.

Parma has a mid-latitude, four-season humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with heavy continental influences due to the city's inland position.

The comune (municipality) of Parma is subdivided into a number of frazioni: Alberi, Baganzola, Beneceto, Botteghino, Ca'Terzi, Calestano, Carignano, Carpaneto, Cartiera, Casalbaroncolo, Casalora di Ravadese, Casaltone, Case Capelli, Case Cocconi, Case Crostolo, Case Nuove, Case Rosse, Case Vecchie, Casino dalla Rosa, Casagnola, Castelletto, Castelnovo, Cervara, Chiozzola, Coloreto, Colorno, Corcagnano, Eia, Fontanini, Fontanellato, Fontevivo, Gaione, Ghiaiata Nuova, Il Moro, La Catena, La Palazzina, Malandriano, Marano, Marore, Martorano, Molino di Malandriano, Osteria San Martino, Panocchia, Paradigna, Pedrignano, Pilastrello, Pizzolese, Ponte, Porporano, Pozzetto Piccolo, Quercioli, Ravadese, Ronco Pascolo, Rosa, San Pancrazio, San Prospero, San Ruffino, San Secondo, Sissa, Soragna, Terenzo, Tizzano Val Parma, Traversetolo, Trecasali, Valera, Viarolo, Viazza, Vicofertile, Vicomero, Vigatto, Vigheffio, Vigolante.