Provinces: Bologna, Forlì, Ferrara, Modena, Piacenza, Parma, Ravenna, Reggio nell’Emilia, Rimini
This region is on Italy’s east coast and is very popular with other Europeans who enjoy the mile and miles of beaches. With airports at Rimini, Forli and Bologna, Emilia-Romagna has good communications and is ideal for anyone planning a vacation in Italy.
This area is very easy and accessible for most travelers. More than half of the Emilia Romagna area is formed by the Apennines; the other half is a large plain, which reaches to the Adriatic Sea. The coastline is flat and sandy, with a typical lagoon and marshy area, named the Valli Comacchio.
Emilia Romagna borders Tuscany to the north and has some fascinating cities scattered over its plains – Bologna, Parma, Modena and Urbino to begin with. The coastline is popular with Europeans, with the area around Rimini having a great many low cost and budget-priced hotels.
The land in this region tends to be flat. This is still a rich and fertile farming area. The towns and cities in this region will enchant any and all visitors. Bologna is an old city with brick buildings, porticoe streets and medieval palaces. The city of Parma also contains some wonderful buildings and their famous hams and cheeses. The other towns of Modena, Ravenna, Ferrara are all very upscale and have some wonderful buildings and art to discovers.
Bologna, Italy – Travel and Tourism
Bologna is a cute town and contains some great brickwork. The famous Neptune Fountain, the symbol of the city, was built in 1566 and is located at the center of Piazza del Nettuno. The Basilica of San Petronio is one of the finest examples of Gothic buildings in Italy. Bologna is a must-visit when coming to Italy. Bologna has a unique and charming. You will find people on the move in the center at any time of the day or night Bologna is a very popular tourist destination for visitors to Italy.
Bologna Italy has a rich and historical past and it is worth visiting when you come to Italy. The city is home to many restaurants, hotels and other tourist amenities that can help you while you explore and discover some of the histories of this famous Italian city of Bologna.
Bologna has abundant hotels, lodging, and restaurants for the visitor and when thinking of visiting, you may want to book your reservation ahead of time by phone, fax, email or online. During the busy tourist months, you can expect to see and mingle with tourists from all over the world.
The city of Bologna has many galleries and museums to explore and discover while visiting this charming city in Italy.
Ravenna, Italy – Travel and Tourism
Sometimes referred to as the ‘Capital of Mosaics’, between the sixth and eighth centuries Ravenna was the principal center of Byzantine civilization in Italy.
This was once the capital of the Western Roman Empire, the seat of the Gothic kings, and a major station of Byzantium under the rule of Constantinople. Quite the history in this region.
The legacy is an enormous treasure house of architecture, monuments and religious buildings. Once a coastal town, Ravenna is today a center of art, culture and, famously ‘the city of mosaics’. Make time to visit Ravenna during your vacation in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.
Parma, Italy – Travel and Tourism
Parma’s key attractions are: the Church of the Santa Maria della Steccata, apparently built using Bramante’s original plan for St Peter’s as a model.
The stunning octagonal Baptistery in sugary pink Verona marble, encircled by a band of sculpture and topped off by some slim turrets. The Spezieria Storica di San Giovanni Evangelista, at Borgo Pipa, a thirteenth-century pharmacy that preserved its medieval interior.
Parma’s chief monument is the Palazzo della Pilotta, surrounded by a vast green lawn. Started for Alessandro Farnese – Pope Paul III – in the 16th century, this building was almost destroyed by WW II bombing, though it’s been rebuilt and now houses a number of Parma’s museums: the Galleria Nazionale, the Teatro Farnese and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale.
Across the river from the Palazzo della Pilotta, the Parco Ducale is a set of formal gardens laid out in the eighteenth century around the 16th century Palazzo Ducale. To the south, the Casa di Toscanini is the birthplace of the composer who debuted in the Teatro Regio here.
Piacenza, Italy – Travel and Tourism
Piacenza had the honor, during the Renaissance, to find the local aristocratic families building over fifty Palazzi, with elegant porticoes and splendid gateways. The most magnificent of them is Palazzo Farnese, in the town center. This mansion now is home to a unique carriage museum. But Piacenza also has wonderful churches, such as the Santuario di Santa Maria di Campagna, where pope Urban II proclaimed the first crusades in 1095.
Modena, Italy – Travel and Tourism
Modena, Italy is home to the Cathedral, whose building began in 1099, is known as one of the absolute masterpieces of European Romanesque style. It is an impressive building with a beautiful facade, covered with statues. Cobbled Piazza Grande is the heart of the town. It is framed by the Ghirlandina tower, 87 meters tall and the L-shaped 17th-century town hall or Palazzo Comunale, which takes up two sides of the piazza and actually incorporates several medieval buildings.
The Museum Palace is in nearby Piazza Sant’Agostino. Don’t miss the Galleria Estense, which was the private picture collection of the old lords of Modena. It is one of the most important Italian galleries, containing works by Bernini, Velasquez, Correggio and El Greco. Palazzo dei Musei also houses several municipal museums, a Medieval and Modern Art and History Museum, containing paintings and sculptures dating from the Middle Ages to the modern age, an Archaeological Museum and an Ethnological Collection.
Ferrara, Italy – Travel and Tourism
“Ferrara, City of Renaissance and its Po Delta” have been inscribed in Unesco’s World Heritage list. The center of the town is its medieval piazza and Cathedral, whose facade is a harmonic mixture of Romanesque and Gothic styles. The Cathedral contains several remarkable paintings by artists such as Guercino and Bastianino. Este Castle is the real symbol of the city.
Reggio Emilia, Italy – Travel and Tourism
The old provincial capital is also known as “the home of the Italian flag”. On the 7th of January, 1797, the delegates of the Cispadane Republic decided the green, white and red Cispadane Standard or Flag to become universal. This flag became the symbol of Italy as a whole after 1848.
Today the Museo del Tricolore housed in the Town Hall, in Piazza Prampolini, hosts several objects and documents dating back to the Risorgimento. Visit the Basilica Beata Vergine della Ghiara the Basilica di San Prospero and the Bianello Castle in nearby Quattro Castella.
FORLI’ might be a surprise for visitors coming here by chance, possibly from a nearby sea resort. But it is well worth discovering this town. You may find that it is a treasure chest just waiting to be opened.
Rimini, Italy – Travel and Tourism
A seaside resort renowned for its lively party scene, with numerous nightclubs on the beach through summer. This town has 227 lidos, a 15 km long sandy beach, over 1,000 hotels, 4 theme parks and over 30 discos. Yet, you can also have a stroll in the old town. Rimini, the Roman Ariminum, is an over 22-century-old town with a rich historical and artistic heritage.
It can boast works of art dating back to the Roman Empire, such as the Augustan arch and Tiberius bridge or to the Renaissance, such as the Malatesta Temple, Sismondo castle and the Municipal Museum. These art treasures deserve a visit. Most of the tourists coming to this town enjoy the beach rather than the museum it seems.