PARMA, a sovereign state, called a duchy, in Italy. It consists of three districts, viz. Parma, Piacenza, and Borgo St Domino, which, under the government of Napoleon, formed the department of the Taro, to which has been added the small duchy of Guastalla, now a fourth division. It is situated between Modena, the Austrian territory of Mantua, and the river Po, extends over 2266 square miles, and contains about 420,000 inhabitants, all of whom adhere to the Roman Catholic church. The district is generally a level plain, and part of it belongs to that of Lombardy. A portion of the Apennines is within the duchy, but it includes none of the higher elevations of that range of mountains. The Po, which is the northern boundary, receives the waters of the numerous small streams which, rising in the Apennines, serve the purpose of irrigation, and give fertility to the soil. The land is generally farmed on the metayer system, and the succession of crops is generally as follows: In the first year a fallow, with tobacco, maize, or hemp, well manured; in the second year rye; in the third beans; in the fourth wheat, manured; in the fifth clover; and in the sixth corn of some kind. More grain is produced than suffices for consumption, and abundance of flax, tobacco, and maize is exported, as well as fruit, wine, and olive oil. Silk is also produced in great abundance. The greatest profit of the husbandry of Parma is derived from the cattle. The cows are numerous, and of an excellent race; and the cheese as well as the butter produced yield large gains. The sheep are numerous, their flesh is good, and many of them yield the finest wool. There are mines of copper and of iron worked; and the several articles composed of these metals are manufactured within the duchy. Marble and alabaster are drawn from the quarries. Abundance of mineral oil is furnished from springs, and is used not only for greasing wheels of carriages, but for lighting the streets. There are few manufactures, and those which do exist are upon a small scale, and for domestic use. The government is monarchical, and is at present vested in Maria Louisa, the wife of Napoleon, but after her demise it will descend to the Duchess of Lucca. The revenues of the duchy amount to L.187,000. The military force consists of 3600 men, '.but only one third of them is in service at the same time.

Parma, the capital of the duchy of that name, is a city situated on the river Parma, which divides it into two parts, and stands about three hundred feet above the level of the sea. It is surrounded with walls and ditches, protected by bastions, and it has also a citadel; but the fortifications are scarcely tenable against a serious attack. It is well built, and has broad, well-paved streets, with large palaces and houses; but few of them display much architectural taste, and even the ducal residence is not elegantly constructed. The opera-house is distinguished by its size; and some of the churches ăre large and magnificent. There is a university of ancient celebrity, an episcopal seminary, and a college for nobility. The inhabitants depend on their estates or on the court, and amount to 28,750 persons. Long. 10. 15.14. E. Lat. 44. 48. 1. N.