in the valleys along rivers or on top of hills for defensive purposes, from the foothills to where the Apennine begin to grow into fully developed mountains, between 100 and around 700 m amsl. Many of those towns are built around medieval castles, such as Bardi, Torrechiara, Compiano and many others. In this area the climate is slightly different from that of the plains, with less foggy days, milder temperatures (higher minimum temperatures during winter and lower maximum temperatures during summer due to its height that makes it less prone to Temperature inversions. Here, cultivated fields and wide woods coexist, mainly because part of the land is owned by families no longer living in the area, as big chunks of the population migrated to the plains or to other nations, mainly the United States, the United Kingdom and Argentina, over the course of the 20th century. The mountains: The southernmost area of the Province is occupied by the ridge of the Apennine, with mountains ranging from 1000 m to the 1850 m amsl of Mount Sillara, Mount Losanna and Mount Marmagna. Due to the geographical nature of this mountain range, the Parmesan side, facing North, has considerably longer nights than the rest of Pianura padana and the Italian Alps, even during summer. In this area the climate is Alpine, with long winters, temperatures frequently reaching double digits negatives and snow falling from October to May, typically leaving the tops snow-free only from mid June to the end of September. During the summer months temperatures reach the lower 20s°C only when intense heat waves hit the region, while minimum temperatures are in the 5–8 °C range, depending on the altitude. Almost daily thunderstorms develop on these mountains during summer, rarely being snow thunderstorms. The mountains are almost completely covered in forests to an height of about 1500 m amsl, where grass, heather and various berries predominate. Two main towns are located in the valleys between the Apennine mountains: Bedonia and Borgotaro, historically in control of commercial traffic through the passes to Liguria (Passo del Tomarlo, Passo della Cisa, Passo del Brattello, Passo del Bocco and others). Comuni The Province of Parma comprises 47 comuni. The 20 largest of these are: Cuisine Parma is famous for its Prosciutto di Parma. The whole area is renowned for its salami production (particularly the well known Salame di Felino), as well as for the Parmigiano