Parma is a town in the Emilia region of Italy. Founded by the consul Marcus Emilius Lepidus in 183 BC, it became a rich commune in the Middle Ages and over the centuries was ruled by the Viscontis, the Sforzas, the French and the Vatican. Finally, it was made into a duchy by Pope Paul III in 1545 and given to his son Pier Luigi Farnese. The Farnese family reigned in Parma for almost two hundred years. The town was inherited by the Bourbons in the early 18th century. They gave its court and socia