See Italy’s Capital of Culture 2020 through the eyes of an architect

Parma is widely-known for two things: its unmatched cuisine — wheels of Parmigiano and cured meats fill shop windows — and the master opera composer, Verdi. The city, in the Emilia-Romagna region, might be outshone by the more famous Bologna. Yet Parma has been at the center of Italy’s political and cultural scene for centuries, linked to legacies of families such as the Farnese, as well as Napoleon’s French Empire.