The Parma Ham Festival is guest of the European Parliament

After Paris, the Parma Ham Festival, to be held for the 14th year, calls at another European capital: it was presented in Brussels over the last few days at the prestigious seat of the European Parliament, the Paul-Henri Spaak building.

The presentation took place within the context of a larger conference called New prospects for sustainable tourism in Europe that presented the results of the Study of the Impact of Cultural Itineraries on the Innovation and Competitiveness of SMEs and the new number of the Via Francigena and the Pilgrimage Ways magazine, which is the communication body of the European Association of the Vie Francigene and tool for popularizing the project for promoting the Cultural Itinerary of the Council of Europe.

Authoritative voices from the whole of Europe describe francigena walks and territories to be discovered and crossed; Europe takes shape in the pages dedicated to the other cultural itineraries of the Council of Europe, with a glance at the Vie Francigene of the South. The nature of francigena plans, the activities of the European Association of the Vie Francigene and of the world of associations are illustrated. The magazine is completed with the consolidated column La Via del Gusto. DOP – IGP e Prodotti Tipici lungo la Via Francigena (The Taste Route. PDO – PGI and Local Products along the Via Francigena).

The day was organized by Euro MPs Silvia Costa and Debora Serracchiani, and the following took part: Antonio Tajani, Vice President of the European Commission, Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni and Robert Palmer of the Council of Europe, together with Massimo Tedeschi, AEVF President, and MP Paolo De Castro.

The Parma area was represented by the Vice President of the Province, Pierluigi Ferrari, and by Gianni Mozzoni, Vice President of the Parma Ham Consortium, who officially launched, at European level, the Parma Ham Festival, to take place from 9 to 18 September 2011, organized by Fiere di Parma.

At the end of the presentation, a tasting of francigena tipicalities took place in which the products of excellence of the Parma area were protagonists: Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, cured Parma Ham, Borgotaro Mushrooms preserved in oil, wine of the Consorzio Tutela Vini Colli di Parma (Consortium for the protection of the wines of the Parma hills).