HISTORY: Around the 6th century BC, the area of today’s Emilia-Romagna was inhabited by the Etruscans. The Etruscans were forced out of this area two centuries later, by the Gauls, and from the 2nd century BC, the region passed under the Roman domination. After the fall of the Roman Empire, at the end of the 5th century, the Byzantines took over the area for the next 200 years.
In the 16th century, Emilia-Romagna was, for the most part, under the Papal rule, with Modena under the domination of the Este family and Parma under the domination of the Farnese family. At the beginning of the 19th century, after a period of French domination under Napoleon Bonaparte, the region returned to the papacy. In 1960, Emilia-Romagna was included in the newly created Kingdom of Italy.
GEOGRAPHY: Situated in the Northern Italy, Emilia-Romagna borders to the west with Liguria, to the southwest with Tuscany, to the southeast with Marche, to the northeast with Veneto and to the north with Lombardy.
The region covers an area of about 22,500 square kilometers and consists of nine provinces. Besides Bologna, the region’s capital, the most important cities of Emilia-Romagna are Parma, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Ravenna, Rimini, Ferrara, Forli, Piacenza and Cesena.
TRANSPORT: The main airports of Emilia-Romagna are Guglielmo Marconi Airport, in Bologna, Luigi Ridolfi Airport, in Forli, and Giuseppe Verdi Airport, in Parma. Having a well-established road network, the region can also be easily explored by car. If you can, rent a car and wander between the cities of Emilia-Romagna.
In Emilia-Romagna, you can also travel by train. A train ticket from Bologna to Modena costs 3.85€ and the trip takes about 20 minutes. From Bologna to Parma, a train ticket is 7.35€ and the trip takes almost an hour. From Bologna to Rimini, a ticket costs 9.85€ and the trip takes about one hour and a half.
MORE INFO: Bologna Airport | Car Hire | Train Timetables & Fares | Hotels in Emilia-Romagna