L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 10 L'Italo-Americano W e d o n ' t w a n t t o b e c o n - t r o v e r - sial with that title, we are just stating t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e a n n u a l survey carried out by Italian m a g a z i n e I t a l i a O g g i , i n collaboration with the Uni- v e r s i t à L a S a p i e n z a , i n Rome. Parma was selected a s t h e c i t y w i t h t h e b e s t quality of life in the country, a result that took many by surprise, considering how, on the previous year's list, Parma had only reached the 39th position. Quite a feat, then, that came after the year spent as Italian Capital of Culture, w h i c h g u a r a n t e e d P a r m a visibility, funding, and the o p p o r t u n i t y t o s c r u b u p e v e n m o r e n i c e l y t h a n i t usually does. But giving to this all the merit of Parma's incredible climb to the top would be unfair. Because it wasn't an easy couple of years for the city, which had initially received the title of Capital of Cul- ture for 2020, and saw all of its events canceled because o f t h e p a n d e m i c . I n a n attempt to allow it to ripe at least some of the benefits a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e t i t l e , Parma was granted a second chance, and kept the title for 2021, too, an opportuni- ty its people and businesses embraced in full. Indeed, the city made the most of its i n v e s t m e n t s , f o c u s i n g i n particular on strengthening its already impressive cul- tural portfolio and creating a full social regeneration p l a n t o b e c o m p l e t e d b y 2030. At the heart of it, is the will to make Parma a hub for music, culture, her- itage, food and of course, business, even more than it already is. P a r m a ' s f i r s t p o s i t i o n s h o u l d n ' t s u r p r i s e : i t s region, Emilia Romagna, is one of the wealthiest in the country and it is known for its people's lust for "buon vivere:" luscious food, great wine, a passion for music – Verdi was from not far from here, let's not forget! – and for beautiful cars, if it's true t h a t F e r r a r i c o m e s f r o m here, too. Emilia Romagna is the Italian region with the h i g h e s t n u m b e r o f r e g i s - tered DOP and IGP prod- ucts in the whole country, a n d t h i s s a y s a l o t i f y o u c o n s i d e r I t a l y c o u n t s a whopping 138 of the first and 83 of the latter. T h e s u r v e y , w h i c h reached its 23rd edition, focuses on nine categories and Parma scored high in all of them: business and work, social and personal h a r d s h i p , e n v i r o n m e n t , e d u c a t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g , safety, income and wealth, p o p u l a t i o n , h e a l t h a n d leisure. Tiffany Eastham, from Italicsmag stressed how there is one thing in Parma that touches upon a l m o s t e v e r y c a t e g o r y : Food and its culture. And how could it be any differ- ent, when so many tradi- tional – and iconic – prod- ucts of our culinary Made in Italy come from here? The k i n g o f c h e e s e s , p a r m i - giano-reggiano, and that of cured meats, prosciutto di Parma, both hail from the city and its province, but there is more: from tortelli- ni to culatello di Zibello, f r o m c o p p a d i P a r m a t o castagnaccio and spongata, a delicious concoction of h o n e y , n u t s a n d c a n d i e d fruit. E v e n U N E S C O r e c o g - n i z e d t h e g r e a t n e s s o f P a r m a i n t h e c u l i n a r y industry not only for its role today but also for its histori- cal importance, making it a Creative UNESCO City for G a s t r o n o m y . T h e t i t l e means Parma is a leading force in quality food pro- duction, that manages to merge local culinary tradi- t i o n w i t h m o d e r n i t y a n d creativity. But can a good quality of life be tied with good food? Of course it can, and not simply because eating nice t h i n g s m a k e s m o s t o f u s happy. It's what "good food" s t a n d s f o r t h a t c o u n t s : a culinary industry that focus- es on quality and local, tra- d i t i o n a l p r o d u c t s , w h i c h translates into family-run businesses but also highly efficient multinational ones, offering employment and know-how to the members of local communities. Good food brings wealth. But there is more than that, really, because culinary t r a d i t i o n h e r e i s a l s o a marker of social connections and local identity, factors t h a t m a k e a c o m m u n i t y m o r e c o h e s i v e a n d m o r e likely to be supportive, just like it used to be in the old times of our grandparents. W h i l e , y e s , t i m e s h a v e changed deeply, it's undeni- able that a sense of commu- nity and shared identity can make the difference when it comes to how enjoyable it is to live somewhere. Parma made it to the top with a big jump but the rest of the top ten isn't so sur- p r i s i n g : T r e n t o , B o l z a n o a n d B o l o g n a , a l l u s u a l members of the best-place- to-live-in club, reached the s e c o n d , t h i r d a n d f o u r t h p o s i t i o n s r e s p e c t i v e l y . Milan follows in fifth and beautiful Florence in sixth. Our beloved capital, Rome, didn't fare too well, reach- i n g o n l y 5 4 t h p l a c e o v e r 107. The highest half of the list is entirely occupied by c i t i e s a n d t o w n s i n t h e N o r t h e r n r e g i o n s o f t h e country, while the last posi- tions are all taken by cities in the South, with Crotone (Calabria) getting the dubi- ous award of the worst place to live in Italy. Two of our m o s t a m a z i n g a r t c i t i e s , Palermo and Naples, didn't do much better: the Sicilian capital is only 99th, while the Campania beauty is sec- ond last. GIULIA FRANCESCHINI A tourist enjoying Parma's beautiful Piazza Duomo (Photo: Rosshelen/Dreamstime) Parma is voted most livable city in Italy: here is why LIFE PEOPLE PLACES EVENTS

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