Albino Ivardi Ganapini, former Provincial Councillor for Agriculture and Productive Activities
Caterina Siliprandi, former Provincial Councillor for Tourism

The “Food Museums” which the Povincial Administration of Parma intend to set up are not in themselves a new concept; it is certainly, however, unique that three separate museums are planned to be located throughout the territory as a network with a single guiding concept.
The land, our territory, and the “art of food preparation” come together, not through an invention, but because of history which, over time, has moulded these extraordinary products which are our ham and cured meat poducts, our cheese and the tomato preserves; products which are not “ours” but which during the course of the last century have found in Parma their natural capital.

The Museums, as conceived by the working group that has developed the concept since October 1999, should be a place of memory and a much needed monument to previous generations, but it must also have the function of showplace to illustrate and demonstrate the value of our products, which are today, more than ever, the stars of the Italian way of eating.

It is important to underline that the Museums have been created at the same time as the “Food and Wine Trails” which the Province of Parma is developing and will become key stopping points along these trails, solidly linked, as they are, to the territory itself. The combination should be an exciting attraction for younger generations, helping to develop culture with them. Foreign visitors will also be attracted to this cultural aspect thus consolidating the role that Parma is, quite rightly, assuming in Europe and elsewhere in the World.

Parma, 31 July 2000