Before the Romans took control of present-day Emilia-Romagna, it had been part of theEtruscan world and subsequently that of theGauls. During the first thousand years of Christianity, trade flourished, as did culture and religion, thanks to the region's numerousmonasteries.
The history of Emilia-Romagna dates back to Roman times when the region of Emilia was ruled by imperial judges linked to the nearby regions of eitherLiguria orTuscany. After the fall of theWestern Roman Empire in the 5th century, the Lombards, a Germanic tribe, founded thekingdom of Lombardy in northern and central Italy. This kingdom, which included the region known as Emilia, flourished until the Lombard dynasty was overthrown by the Frankish kingCharlemagne in 774. From the 6th to 8th centuries, the region of Romagna was under Byzantine rule and Ravenna was the capital of the Exarchate of Italy within the Eastern Roman Empire. In the 8th century, this region became a province of thePapal States when Pepin, the father of Charlemagne, donated the land to the Pope in 754.
During the 10th century, northern Italy became part of the Holy Roman Empire under the control of the Germanic leader Otto I. The Holy Roman emperors had varying degrees of control over northern Italy until the close of the Middle Ages. In the 12th century, the papacy extended its political influence and city states began to form in opposition to the Holy Roman emperors.
The northern cities, supported by the Pope, formed theLombard League and reduced the influence of the ruling Hohenstaufen dynasty over their lands. Division between imperial partisans and their opponents created factions called the Guelphs and the Ghibellines which would divide the cities for centuries. For the next few centuries both Emilia and Romagna were ruled by papal legates or representatives of the Pope.
TheUniversity of Bologna—the oldest university in the world, established in AD 1088—and its bustling towns kept trade and intellectual life alive. Local nobility like theEste of Ferrara, theMalatesta of Rimini, thePopes of Rome, theFarnese of Parma and Piacenza, and theDuchy of Modena and Reggio, jostled for power and influence.
TheHouse of Este gained a notable profile for its political and military might and its patronage of the arts: it left behind a vast heritage of splendid Renaissance palaces, precious paintings and literary masterpieces, such as the works ofLudovico Ariosto,Torquato Tasso andMatteo Maria Boiardo.
Following the rise ofNapoleon, the region of Emilia came under French control.[12] The first red, white and green national flag of a sovereign Italian state was adopted on 7 January 1797, when the Fourteenth Parliament of theCispadane Republic (1797), on the proposal of deputyGiuseppe Compagnoni, decreed "to make universal the ... standard or flag of three colours, green, white, and red ...":[13] For having proposed the green, white and red tricolour flag, Giuseppe Compagnoni is considered the "father of theItalian flag".[14][15]
After theCongress of Vienna in 1815, there was a growing movement for Italian national unity and independence. In 1848, a revolution in Vienna initiated uprisings against Austrian rule. The following decades saw uprisings in several regions and, in 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was established. During thisItalian Unification, the territories of Emilia and Romagna would be incorporated into the new nation.
In the 16th century, most of what would become Emilia-Romagna had been seized by the Papal States, but the territories of Parma, Piacenza, and Modena remained independent until Emilia-Romagna became part of theItalian kingdom between 1859 and 1861.
After the First world war, Emilia-Romagna was at the centre of the so-calledBiennio Rosso, a period of left-wing agitations that paved the way forBenito Mussolini's coup d'état in 1922 and the birth of the Fascist regime in Italy. Mussolini, a native of Emilia-Romagna, sponsored the rise of many hierarchs coming from his same region, such asItalo Balbo,Dino Grandi andEdmondo Rossoni.
During theCold war era, Bologna, traditionally aleft-wing city, was particularly hit by political street violence andterrorism; in 1980 afar-right terrorist groupdetonated a bomb at the city's main railway station, killing 85 people and wounding more than 200.
On 20 and 29 May 2012 twopowerful earthquakes struck the central area of the region, killing 27 people and causing substantial damages to the region's artistic heritage as well as to numerous manufacturing facilities. The 5.8 magnitude earthquake left 14,000 people temporarily homeless.[18]
Relief map of Emilia-RomagnaLagoons along thePo delta
The region of Emilia-Romagna consists of nine provinces and covers an area of 22,446 km2 (8,666 sq mi), ranking sixth in Italy. Nearly half of the region (48%) consists of plains while 27% is hilly and 25% mountainous. The region's section of theApennines is marked by areas offlysch,badland erosion (calanques) andcaves. The mountains stretch for more than 300 km (186.41 mi) from the north to the south-east, with only three peaks above 2,000 m –Monte Cimone (2,165 m),Monte Cusna (2,121 m) andAlpe di Succiso (2,017 m).
The plain was formed by the gradual retreat of the sea from thePo basin and by the detritus deposited by the rivers. Almost entirelymarshland in ancient times, its history is characterised by the hard work of its people to reclaim and reshape the land in order to achieve a better standard of living.
Thegeology varies, withlagoons and saline areas in the north and manythermal springs throughout the rest of the region as a result of groundwater rising towards the surface at different periods of history. All the rivers rise locally in the Apennines except for the Po, which has its source in theAlps inPiedmont. The northern border of Emilia-Romagna follows the path of the river for 263 km (163+1⁄2 mi).
Emilia-Romagna has been a highly populated area since ancient times. Inhabitants over the centuries have radically altered thelandscape, building cities, reclaiming wetlands, and establishing large agricultural areas. All these transformations in past centuries changed the aspect of the region, converting large natural areas to cultivation, up until the 1960s. The trend then changed, and agricultural lands began giving way to residential and industrial areas. The increase of urban-industrial areas continued at very high rates until the end of the 2010s. In the same period, hilly and mountainous areas saw an increase in the registration of semi-natural areas, because of the abandonment of agricultural lands.
Land use changes can have strong effects on ecological functions. Human interactions such as agriculture, forestation and deforestation affectsoil function, e.g. food and other biomass production, storing, filtering and transformation, habitat and gene pool.[19]
In the Emilia-Romagna plain, which represents half of the region and where three quarters of the population of the region live, the agricultural land area has been reduced by 157 km2 while urban and industrial areas have increased to over 130 km2 between 2003 and 2008. The impact ofland use and particularly of the urbanisation of the Emilia-Romagna plain during this period has had some strong consequences in the economic and ecological assessment of the region. The loss of arable land is equivalent to a permanent loss of the capacity to feed 440,000 persons per year from resources grown within the region. The increasedwater runoff due tosoil sealing requires adaptation measures for river and irrigation canals such as the building ofretention basins, at a total cost estimated in the order of billions of euros.[20]
In 2000 there were 103,700 farm holdings and in 2010 there were 73,470, or a -29.2% loss in holdings for the region. The total utilised agricultural area (UAA) was 1,114,590 hectares (2,754,200 acres) in 2000 and 1,064,210 hectares (2,629,700 acres) in 2014 for a loss of 4.5%, indicating a downturn of smaller farm ownership. During this same timeframe there was a 14.5% decrease in the farm labor workforce.[21]
The Regional Government (Giunta Regionale) is presided by the President of the Region (Presidente della Regione), who is elected for a five-year term. The Regional Government is composed of the President and the Ministers (Assessori), of which there are currently twelve including the Vice President and the Under-Secretary for the President's office.[22]
Apart from theprovince of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna was historically a stronghold of theItalian Communist Party, forming the Italian "Red Quadrilateral"[23] or sometimes called the "Red Belt" withTuscany,Umbria andMarche. This is probably due to the strength of the anti-fascist resistance around the time of World War II as well as a strong tradition ofanti-clericalism dating from the 19th century, when part of the region belonged to thePapal States. The strength of the anti-fascist resistance is one of the main factors, along with the effectiveness of trade-unionism, that led to the dominance of the PCI in the region.
Emilia-Romagna has since World War II been a left-wing stronghold, nowadays led by theDemocratic Party, since its creation in 2007.
Emilia-Romagna is divided into nine provinces. Apart from the creation of theMetropolitan City of Bologna, plans to reduce the number of provinces from nine to four have been dropped.
As of 2025, the region has a population of 4,465,678, of whom 49.1% are male and 50.9% are female. Minors make up 14.7% of the population, and seniors make up 24.9%, compared to the Italian average of 14.9% and 24.7% respectively.[2]
The population density of 198.4 inhabitants per km2 is slightly above the national average of 195.1. The population of this region is traditionally evenly distributed, with no dominant metropolis but rather a line of medium-sized cities along theVia Emilia, where two thirds of the population and the majority of the industrial production are concentrated. The coast ofRomagna is also densely populated due to the booming seaside tourism in recent decades. In the peripheral areas of the Apennine Mountains and the agricultural plains around Ferrara and Piacenza, the population is less dense.
The region has nine cities with populations exceeding one hundred thousand: Bologna, Parma, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Ravenna, Rimini, Ferrara, Forlì and Piacenza. These cities rank among the 50 most populous in Italy. The regional capital, Bologna, has about 400,000 inhabitants and lies at the heart of ametropolitan area of about one million residents.
As of 2024, the foreign-born population is 685,533, equal to 15.4% of the population. The 5 largest foreign nationalities areAlbanians (74,239),Moroccans (72,111),Romanians (69,189),Moldovans (48,140) andUkrainians (39,688).[26]
Emilia-Romagna today is considered one of the richest European regions and the third wealthiest Italian region by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.[28] These results have been achieved by developing a balanced integration of agriculture and manufacturing and of different industries.[29]
In spite of the depth and variety of industrial activities in the region, agriculture has not been eclipsed. Emilia-Romagna is among the leading regions in the country, with farming contributing 5.8% of the gross regional product. The agricultural sector has aimed for increased competitiveness by means of structural reorganisation and high-quality products, and this has led to the success of marketed brands.Cereals,potatoes,maize,tomatoes andonions are the most important products, along withfruit andgrapes for the production ofwine (of which the best known are Emilia'sLambrusco, Bologna'sPignoletto [it], Romagna'sSangiovese and whiteAlbana). Alongside cereals, which for centuries remained the first local product, the cultivation of fruit trees has developed (especially peaches, but also apricots, plums, apples and pears).[30]
Cattle andpig breeding are also highly developed. Farmcooperatives have been working along these lines in recent years. With their long tradition in the region there are now about 8,100 cooperatives, generally in the agricultural sector and mainly located in the provinces ofBologna (2,160) andForlì-Cesena (1,300).[31]
The regional economy is more geared to export markets than other regions in the country: the main exports are from mechanical engineering (53%), the extraction of non-metallic minerals (13%) and theclothing industry (10%).[31] Industry in the region presents a varied and complex picture and is located along the Via Emilia.
Tourism is increasingly important, especially along the Adriatic coastline and the cities of art. The coast is a tourist attraction both in summer, for its rich and organized accommodation (over 5,000 hotels), and in other low-season periods thanks to the numerous youth entertainment venues. In 2022, over 42 million presences and 7 million arrivals were recorded.[33] The most popular location for seaside tourism isRimini. Winter tourism is also good in the ski resorts of theApennines, includingSestola,Monte Cimone and Corno alle Scale. Tourism in the cities of art is very flourishing, especially from abroad. Overall, in 2022, over 60 million tourist presences were recorded in the region with almost 14 million arrivals.[33]
Emilia-Romagna has many small and picturesque villages, 16 of them have been selected byI Borghi più belli d'Italia (English:The most beautiful Villages of Italy),[34] a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,[35] that was founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.[36] These villages are:[37]
The transport infrastructure system of Emilia-Romagna consists of railways, airports, motorways, roads, maritime and river lines. The region of Emilia-Romagna has a very good system of transport, with 574 km (357 mi) of motorways, 1,053 km (654 mi) of railways and airports inBologna,Forlì,Parma andRimini. The main motorway crosses the region from north-west (Piacenza) to the south-east (Adriatic coast), connecting the main cities ofParma,Reggio Emilia,Modena,Bologna, and from here further toRavenna,Rimini and the Adriatic coast.[31] The region is the most important commercial strategic point of the country:Bologna is a railway hub of primary importance in the North and its freight station is the largest in Italy in terms of traffic volume. Some of the main motorways of the country converge in Emilia (Autostrada A1,Autostrada A13,Autostrada A14,Autostrada A15,Autostrada A21 eAutostrada A22). Theport of Ravenna is the largest in the region, and with 26,256,248 tons of freight traffic in 2019,[41] it is the sixth port in Italy in terms of goods flow and the second in the Adriatic Sea after theport of Trieste.
Emilia-Romagna has given birth to a number of important filmmakers and actors and was the main setting for numerous important movies.Bernardo Bertolucci was a native of Parma and his 1976 masterpiece,1900, was partially set in Emilia-Romagna.Federico Fellini, a native of Rimini, shot many movies in the region, among themAmarcord.Pier Paolo Pasolini, a native of Bologna, in addition to being a film director, was a poet, writer, and intellectual, who also distinguished himself as an actor, journalist, novelist, playwright, and political figure.Michelangelo Antonioni, a native of Ferrara, shot his 1964 movieRed Desert in Ravenna.Florestano Vancini, also from Ferrara, shot there his 1960 filmLong Night in 1943.Pupi Avati, a native of Bologna, shot numerous movies in the region, including the 1976 horror-thrillerThe House with Laughing Windows.Marco Bellocchio, a native of Bobbio, near Piacenza, directed many award-winning movies, such as his 2009 biopicVincere. Liliana Cavani, a native of Carpi, near Modena, became internationally known after the success of her 1974 feature filmThe Night Porter. In addition, actor and filmmaker Vittorio De Sica shot in Ferrara his 1970 movieThe Garden of the Finzi-Continis. Other actors from Emilia-Romagna includeGino Cervi, who playedPeppone in theDon Camillo 1950s–1960s movie series;Rossano Brazzi, who acted in numerous English-language films, including the 1954 drama filmThe Barefoot Contessa; and the 1980s comedy duoGigi e Andrea.
Emilia-Romagna is considered one of the richest regions of Italy with regard to its gastronomic and wine-making tradition. The region is known for its egg and filled pasta made with soft wheat flour.Bologna is notable for pasta dishes liketortellini,lasagne,gramigna andtagliatelle made bysfoglini out ofsfoglia. These are found also in many other parts of the region in different declinations. TheRomagna subregion is known as well for pasta dishes likegarganelli,strozzapreti,sfoglia lorda andtortelli alla lastra. In theEmilia subregion, exceptPiacenza which is heavily influenced by the cuisines ofLombardia where rice is more common, rice is eaten to a lesser extent.Polenta, a maize-based dish, is common both in Emilia and Romagna. The celebratedbalsamic vinegar is made only in the Emilian cities ofModena andReggio Emilia, following legally binding traditional procedures.[42]Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan Cheese) is produced in Reggio Emilia, Parma, Modena and Bologna and is much used in cooking, whileGrana Padano variety is produced in the rest of the region.
Although the Adriatic coast is a major fishing area which produces eels and clams, the region produces more meat products, especially pork-based, including Parma'sprosciutto,culatello andSalame Felino, Piacenza'spancetta,coppa and salami, Bologna'smortadella andsalame rosa, Modena'szampone,cotechino andcappello del prete andFerrara'ssalama da sugo.Reggio Emilia is the origin of the fresh egg-made pastacappelletti (similar to Bologna's tortellini but differing in size), the typicalErbazzone Reggiano (Emilian spinach cheese pie) andParmigiano Reggiano salted cake, andGnocco Fritto, mixed flour stripes fried in boiling oil, eaten in combination with ham or salami.Crescentina is a thin round bread that originates in the Apennines around Modena and is usually filled withcunza (a spread made from pork lard and flavoured with garlic and rosemary) or with cold cuts, cheese and salty dressings or sweet spreads. Piacenza and Ferrara are also known for some dishes prepared with horse and donkey meat. Regional desserts includezuppa inglese (custard-based dessert made with sponge cake andAlchermes liqueur) andpanpepato (Christmas cake made with pepper, chocolate, spices, and almonds). An exhaustive list of the most important regional wines should includeSangiovese from Romagna,Lambrusco fromReggio Emilia orModena,Cagnina di Romagna,Gutturnio andTrebbiano fromPiacenza.
Giuseppe Verdi, one of the most popular and acclaimed opera composers
Emilia-Romagna gave birth to one of the most important composers in the history of music,Giuseppe Verdi, as well asArturo Toscanini, one of the most acclaimed conductors of the 20th century, and the operatic tenorLuciano Pavarotti.
Ducati Corse is the motorsports division ofDucati's motorcycle company, being the predominant Italian constructor inMotoGP and theSuperbike World Championship. Ducati has won two MotoGP titles, with AustralianCasey Stoner in2007 and with ItalianPecco Bagnaia in2022. Stoner is also the most successful rider for the team in MotoGP, having won 23 Grands Prix in his four seasons. Ducati have had multiple World ChampionsValentino Rossi andJorge Lorenzo race for the team. In 2017, Emilia-Romagna nativeAndrea Dovizioso finished second in the MotoGP championship for Ducati. The team has frequently had at least one Italian rider in its factory team since its entry into the premier class in 2003 at the beginning of the four-stroke engine era. Its first Grand Prix winner was Emilia-Romagna nativeLoris Capirossi in the team's inaugural season. Ducati have also won multiple Superbike titles with riders such asCarl Fogarty,Troy Bayliss, andAlvaro Bautista being among title winners.
Aside from Dovizioso and Capirossi, high-profile racers such asMarco Melandri andMarco Simoncelli have also come out of Emilia-Romagna. Simoncelli died in an accident when he was run over on track in the2011 Malaysian Grand Prix at the age of 24, and was honoured by having theMisano World Circuit named after him.
Emilia-Romagna have two major international race circuits;Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari inImola and the aforementionedcircuit inMisano Adriatico. Imola used to host Formula One between 1980 and 2006, under the banner ofSan Marino Grand Prix on all but one occasion; as well as hosting two non-championship races in1963 and1979. The track was the site for thefatal crash of three-time world championAyrton Senna on1 May 1994, along with a fatal crash the day before of AustrianRoland Ratzenberger. The track was rebuilt after the tragedies and returned to the calendar in a new guise already the following year. Imola was a happy hunting ground for Emilia-Romagna team Scuderia Ferrari during the era on the re-built track, with Michael Schumacher winning the race five times in front of the home crowd. In2020, Imola returned to the calendar due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and hosted theEmilia Romagna Grand Prix.[44]
The region has hosted 42Italy national football team home matches. With 11 professional clubs in 2022/2023 season, the region is only bettered in terms of number of professional clubs byLombardy. It also has 747 amateur clubs, 1,522 football pitches and 75,328 registered players.[45]
Included in the table below are all sides in the top three tiers of Italian football (Serie A,Serie B andSerie C), as well as any sides that have won major honours.
The region has a very strong tradition involleyball as well, with three clubs that are among the oldest, most winning and prestigious teams in Italy and Europe:Parma,Modena andPorto Ravenna. These three clubs have won a combined 9CEV Champions Leagues, 4 won by Modena, 3 by Ravenna and 2 by Parma.
^Maiorino, Tarquinio; Marchetti Tricamo, Giuseppe; Zagami, Andrea (2002).Il tricolore degli italiani. Storia avventurosa della nostra bandiera (in Italian). Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. p. 157.ISBN978-88-04-50946-2.
^Tarozzi, Fiorenza; Vecchio, Giorgio (1999).Gli italiani e il tricolore (in Italian). Il Mulino. p. 9.ISBN88-15-07163-6.
^Malucelli, F.; Certini, G.; Scalenghe, R. (2014). "Soil is brown gold in the Emilia-Romagna Region".Land Use Policy.39:350–357.doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2014.01.019.
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Facaros, Dana, and Michael Pauls.Northern Italy: Emilia-Romagna: including Bologna, Ferrara, Modena, Parma, Ravenna and the Republic of San Marino (2018) –excerpt
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