About Emilia-Romagna
The region of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy is a fine tourist destination with a wide range of attractions to offer the visitor. Reaching from Italy’s eastern, Adriatic coastline almost across to the west coast, this is a prosperous region renowned for its high quality of life, its food – including Parma ham and Parmesan cheese – its beaches and its art-city capital Bologna.
Emilia-Romagna’s territory stretches from the Apennine mountains, Italy’s rocky spine, to the Adriatic sea where the long, flat sandy shore is basically a chain of beach resorts. The region’s landscape is interestingly varied, including hills and nature reserves as well as the level agricultural plains which make up around half of its area. Emilia-Romagna’s borders are with the Veneto and Lombardy in the north, with Piemonte and Liguria in the west, with Tuscany and Le Marche in the south, and also with the little independent Republic of San Marino.
What are the best holidays in Emilia-Romagna?
- Plan a touring itinerary through art cities, history, fine food and pretty villages
- Extend a tour up into the Veneto to reach Venice, or over to Florence and the best of Tuscany
- Enjoy a city break in Bologna, Modena, Parma, Ravenna or one of the region’s other food-and-art towns
- Embrace Italian beach life with a sunshine holiday in an Adriatic seaside resort, ideally just before or after the peak summer season
- Dive deeper and travel with a theme: ancient mosaics, cars and motor racing, food festivals, castles, poetry
Emilia-Romagna destinations
The town’s cities are of great antiquity, as they grew up along the Via Aemilia, the major Roman route which led to the port of Ariminum – modern Rimini. Ravenna was the capital of Italy in the twilight years of the Empire, while Bologna is one of the most important towns in present-day Italy. With the exception of the seaside resorts in summer, Emilia-Romagna is not over-burdened with tourists, and visitors can still stroll around city centres, admiring their fine art and architecture, and feel a part of real Italy.
The region is divided into nine provinces: Bologna, Ferrara, Piacenza, Ravenna, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Forlì-Cesena and Rimini . The regional capital is Bologna.
Emilia-Romagna travel
For an area which doesn’t include any of Italy’s largest tourist destinations, Emilia-Romagna is surprisingly well-connected with international airports. The region’s principal airport year-round is Bologna, but seasonal budget flights from the UK also fly to seaside Rimini. There are also small international airports close to Parma and Forlì, and although these don’t offer useful flights for UK travellers at the time of writing, they have done in the past and may do again.
The Emilia- Romagna region also has good transport links with its neighbours, and is in easy reach of destinations like Venice, Pisa, Verona, Milan and Genoa, which makes it a convenient component in a touring or two-centre holiday.
What to see in Emilia-Romagna
Bologna is the region’s capital; a large and historic university town with lots to see and do. Ferrara, a medieval and Renaissance city, is a UNESCO World Heritage site, along with the nearby Po Delta, with its protected lagoon environments. Parma, Reggio Emilia and Modena are all attractive art cities; Modena’s cathedral is also on the UNESCO list. Ancient Ravenna is another a UNESCO Heritage site, and is famous for its Byzantine and early Christian mosaics.
The sandy beaches of the Emilia-Romagna coastline – the Riviera Romagnola – are popular holiday destinations, with many modern resorts like Cattolica, Cesenatico and Milano Marittima. Of the Adriatic beach resorts Rimini is the best-known to foreign visitors, and is currently shaking off its tacky reputation with something of a style renaissance. As well as the long and crowded beaches, it also has an important historic centre with sights including the Renaissance Tempio Malatestiano and the Roman Arch of Augustus.
Lovers of slow travel will enjoy unwinding in the gorgeous settings of little towns like Brisighella and Santarcangelo di Romagna.
The independent Republic of San Marino is situated between Emilia-Romagna and Le Marche, and it is easily visited from nearby Rimini.
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Destinations in detail
- Bologna – Emilia-Romagna’s capital, beloved of tourists who love the feel of an ‘authentic’ Italian city that’s not as overwhelmed by tourism as Rome, Florence or Venice. Famous for its food, left-wing politics and university, it also has artistic highlights and good transport connections for seeing the area.
- Parma – Verdi, food history and art. This comfortable and handsome town is a great place to spend a few days, with interesting excursions thrown in.
- Brisighella – An enchanting tiny historic town on the edge of the hills, one of Italy’s most charming destinations but not much known outside Italy. Great day-trip destination or base for a relaxing holiday.
- Rimini – Famous beach resort with surprising charm. The inland historic centre is ancient, with Roman monuments, good museums and some delightful lanes, quirky street art and restaurants. Good as a cheap base (thanks to the number of hotels) even if you’re not beach-lovers.
- Faenza – Known as the ‘City of Ceramics’ for its history of ceramic production; a fine museum celebrates its heritage.
- Ravenna – For art-lovers and history enthusiasts, this is one of Italy’s greatest destinations. The seat of imperial power in the western Roman empire as the ‘Dark Ages’ encroached, Ravenna is home to glorious mosaics that are a pinnacle of artistic achievement.