Parma Calcio 1913 was founded in July 1913 in Parma, a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, originally under the name Verdi Football Club in honour of the opera composer Giuseppe Verdi. The club adopted its more familiar identity later that same year and has played its home matches at the Stadio Ennio Tardini since 1923.
For much of its early existence Parma alternated between the lower tiers of Italian football, but a decisive turning point came in 1990 when the club earned promotion to Serie A for the first time. Backed by the Parma-based dairy conglomerate Parmalat, the club entered its most celebrated era under coaches Nevio Scala and, later, Carlo Ancelotti and Alberto Malesani. Between 1992 and 2002 Parma accumulated three Coppa Italia titles, two UEFA Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, and one Supercoppa Italiana. The club's finest league campaign came in 1996–97, when it finished runners-up in Serie A — its highest-ever league placing.
The collapse of Parmalat in 2003 triggered a prolonged financial crisis. Parma was declared bankrupt in March 2015 with liabilities exceeding €218 million, finishing that season at the bottom of Serie A. Refounded in July 2015 as a Serie D club, the new entity achieved three consecutive promotions — a first in Italian football — returning to Serie A by 2018.
Parma's identity is shaped by its crest bearing the cross of the city, earning supporters the nickname Crociati (Crusaders). The club holds a fierce regional rivalry with Reggiana, anchored in the historic Derby dell'Enza.