EMILIA ROMAGNA

Emilia ROmagna, central Italy

Emilia Romagna is a region born from the union of different territories that complement each other.

From the waves of the Adriatic Sea to the peaks of the Apennines, crossing it you will find a wonderful plurality of stories, traditions and landscapes, declined in three destinations all to be visited.
Emilia is the land of castles and fortresses of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, of DOP and IGP products known all over the world – Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma above all – and of the music of Giuseppe Verdi, a native of Busseto. The birth of the Italian tricolor flag is then due to the city of Reggio Emilia.

FOOD & WINE

Emilia Romagna is the home of balsamic vinegar, Bologna mortadella and many other flavors that go well with local wines. Here are the great car and motorcycle manufacturers – Ferrari, Lamborghini, Ducati, Maserati among others – and internationally renowned racetracks. The sporting tradition is also linked to the important ski resorts of Monte Cimone, the highest in the region (2165 meters above sea level) and of Corno alle Scale.
Administratively united, Emilia and Romagna have different traditions and food uses. Emilian cuisine, due to almost eight centuries of autonomy of municipalities and cities, has several culinary traditions. It has a recognized reputation for solid, tasty and generously seasoned cuisine. The cuisine of Romagna, linked to the peasant tradition of the region, is simpler and rougher in comparison, as the Forlì-born Piero Camporesi wrote “with a primitive taste, almost barbaric.” Despite the basic differences, however, there are also points of contact between the two culinary traditions and different dishes are typical of both.

culturE

Emilia-Romagna is one of the wealthiest and most developed regions in Europe, with the third highest GDP per capita in Italy.
Bologna, its capital, has one of Italy’s highest quality of life indices and advanced social services. Emilia-Romagna is also a cultural, economic and tourist center: being the home of the University of Bologna, the oldest university in the world; containing Romanesque and Renaissance cities (such as Modena, Parma and Ferrara) and the former Roman Empire capital of Ravenna; encompassing eleven UNESCO heritage sites; being a center for food and automobile production (home of automotive companies such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Pagani, De Tomaso, Dallara, and Ducati); and having popular coastal resorts such as Cervia, Cesenatico, Rimini and Riccione. In 2018, the Lonely Planet guide named Emilia Romagna as the best place to see in Europe.