The Via Emilia runs dead straight for 260 km from Piacenza to Rimini, and nearly everything worth eating in Italy comes from within sight of it: Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, traditional balsamic from Modena, tortellini and ragù from Bologna. Bologna is the region's arcaded, food-obsessed capital with Europe's oldest university; Ravenna holds the greatest Byzantine mosaics outside Istanbul; and the Motor Valley around Modena and Maranello is home to Ferrari, Lamborghini, Ducati and Pagani.
- Bologna's porticoes and food markets
- Ravenna's Byzantine mosaics
- Parma and the Parmigiano/prosciutto trail
- Modena, Ferrari and the Motor Valley
- Ferrara's Renaissance walls
- Rimini and the Adriatic coast
- Best time to go
- April–June and September–October for the cities and food tours; July–August for the Riviera Romagnola beaches. Winter fog is real but Bologna eats just as well in it.
- Getting there
- Bologna Marconi airport plus Rimini and Forlì; Bologna Centrale is the crossroads of the high-speed network — 37 min to Florence, 1h to Milan, 2h to Rome.
© OpenFreeMap · OSM · terrain Mapterhorn · boundaries © EuroGeographics (Eurostat GISCO)
Headline places
What italia.it leads with in Emilia-Romagna.
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Ravenna's Byzantine Mosaics Eight UNESCO monuments — San Vitale and Galla Placidia above all -
Brisighella Three chalk pinnacles, a raised covered street and very good olive oil -
The Two Towers, Bologna Asinelli and Garisenda — the survivors of a medieval skyline of a hundred towers -
Museo Ferrari, Maranello The heart of the Motor Valley, next door to the factory - Parmigiano Reggiano & Prosciutto Trail Dairies at dawn and hill-town curing rooms, between Parma and Langhirano
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Comacchio & the Po Delta Canals, eel fisheries and Italy's biggest wetland bird reserve
Cities & bases
Where to sleep, and what each place is good for.
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Bologna 40 km of porticoes, the oldest university in Europe, and the best eating in Italy -
Ferrara A moated castle, Renaissance town planning and bicycles everywhere -
Parma Prosciutto, Parmigiano, Correggio's frescoes and Verdi's country -
Modena Balsamic vinegar, a Romanesque cathedral and Ferrari next door -
Ravenna The best Byzantine mosaics outside Istanbul -
Rimini Fifteen kilometres of Adriatic beach — and Fellini's home town
Our guides
Full destination guides we already publish in this region.
Emilia-Romagna by experience
The themes this region delivers on.
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Art & culture More UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other country on earth -
Food & wine Regional to the point of parochial — and all the better for it -
Coast & islands 7,900 km of coastline and around eighty inhabited islands -
UNESCO Italy Sixty World Heritage sites — the largest tally of any country -
Borghi & villages The hill towns that carry I Borghi più belli d'Italia and the Orange Flag -
Nature & national parks 25 national parks, from alpine glaciers to volcanic islands -
Sport & the outdoors Dolomiti Superski, the Giro's climbs and Garda's windsurfing -
Shopping & markets Milan's Quadrilatero, Florence's leather and the weekly market habit -
Events & festivals The Palio, Carnevale, the Biennale and an opera season in a Roman arena
More of The North
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Aosta Valley Italy's smallest region, under the four highest mountains in the Alps -
Piedmont Barolo, white truffles, royal Turin and the Alps at the foot of the plain -
Liguria The Italian Riviera — Cinque Terre, Portofino and pesto's home port -
Lombardy Milan, the great lakes and the Alps of Valtellina -
South Tyrol German-speaking Italy under the Dolomites -
Trentino Dolomite valleys, Lake Garda's northern tip and Italy's alpine lakes -
Veneto Venice, Verona, Palladio's villas and the Dolomites of Cortina -
Friuli Venezia Giulia Habsburg Trieste, Roman Aquileia and Italy's finest white wines