Italy Guide
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna doesn't attract nearly the same volume of tourists as its neighbouring provinces of Lombardy, the Veneto and Tuscany, which is strange because it offers just as fine a distillation of the region's charms: glorious countryside, plenty of historic architecture and local cuisine renowned across the rest of Italy.
The largest urban centre, and the main tourist draw, is Bologna, the site of Europe's first university – and today best known as the "gastronomic capital of Italy". It's generally regarded as one of the country's most beautiful cities with a mazy network of porticoed, medieval streets housing a collection of restaurants that easily live up to the town's reputation. To the west are the wealthy, provincial towns of Modena and Parma, each just an hour or so away by train, and each with their own charming historic centres and gastronomic delights, while to the east lies Ravenna, once the capital of the Western Roman Empire and today home to the finest set of Byzantine mosaics in the world. The Adriatic coast south is an overdeveloped ribbon of settlements, although Rimini, at its southern end, provides a spark of interest, with its wild seaside nightlife, surprisingly historic town centre and increasingly sophisticated dining and eating options.
Highlights
1 Bologna A meal out in the gastronomic capital of Italy is a rite of passage for any true food lover.
2 Modena's Duomo One of the finest Romanesque buildings in Italy, with some magnificent decoration inside and out.
3 Parma and its food Parma is inextricably linked to two great delicacies, Parma ham and Parmesan cheese, both of which can be sampled in the city or in the surrounding region.
4 Ravenna's mosaics Unrivalled both in beauty and preservation, these mosaics are unmissable.
5 Rimini's nightlife The hottest, loudest, wildest and fastest-changing in the country.