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Top Reasons to Go | Getting Oriented | Planning | Eating and Drinking Well in Emilia-Romagna

Updated by Patricia Rucidlo

Gourmets the world over claim that Emilia-Romagna’s greatest contribution to humankind has been gastronomic. Birthplace of fettuccine, tortellini, lasagna, prosciutto, and Parmesan cheese, the region has a spectacular culinary tradition. But there are many reasons to come here aside from the desire to be well fed: Parma’s Correggio paintings, Giuseppe Verdi’s villa at Sant’Agata, the medieval splendor of Bologna’s palaces and Ferrara’s alleyways, the rolling hills of the Romagna countryside, and, perhaps foremost, the Byzantine beauty of mosaic-rich Ravenna—glittering as brightly today as it did 1,500 years ago.

As you travel through Emilia, the western half of the region, you’ll encounter the sprawling plants of Italy’s industrial food giants, like Barilla and Fini, standing side by side with the fading villas and farmhouses that have long punctuated the flat, fertile land of the Po Plain. Bologna, the principal city of Emilia, is a busy cultural and, increasingly, business center, less visited but in many ways just as engaging as the country’s more famous tourist destinations—particularly given its acknowledged position as the leading city of Italian cuisine. The rest of the region follows suit: eating is an essential part of any Emilian experience.

The area’s history is laden with culinary legends, such as how the original tortellino (singular of tortellini) was modeled on the shape of Venus’s navel and the original tagliolini (long, thin egg pasta) was served at the wedding banquet of Annibale Bentivoglio and Lucrezia d’Este—a marriage uniting two of the noblest families in the region. You’ll need to stay focused just to make sure you try all the basics: Parma’s famed prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese; Modena’s balsamic vinegar; the ragù—slow-simmered meat sauce—whose poor imitations are known elsewhere in the world as “Bolognese”; and, of course, the best pasta in the world.

The historic border between Emilia to the west and Romagna to the east lies near the fortified town of Dozza. Emilia is flat; but just east of the Romagnan border the landscape gets hillier and more sparsely settled, in places covered with evergreen forests and steaming natural springs. Finally, it flattens again into the low-lying marshland of the Po Delta, which meets the Adriatic Sea. Each fall, in both Romagna and Emilia, the trademark fog rolls in off the Adriatic to hang over the flatlands in winter, coloring the region with a spooky, gray glow.

Top Reasons to Go

The signature food of Emilia: This region’s food—prosciutto crudo, Parmigiano-Reggiano, balsamic vinegar, and above all, pasta—makes the trip to Italy worthwhile.

Mosaics that take your breath away: The intricate tiles in Ravenna’s Mausoleo di Galla Placidia, in brilliantly well-preserved colors, depict vivid portraits and pastoral scenes.

Arguably Europe’s oldest wine bar: Nicholas Copernicus tippled here while studying at Ferrara’s university in the early 1500s; Osteria al Brindisi, in the centro storico (historic center), has been pouring wine since 1435.

The nightlife of Bologna: This red-roofed, leftist-leaning city has had a lively student culture since the university—Europe’s oldest—was founded in the late 11th century.

The medieval castles of San Marino: Its three castles dramatically perch on a rock more than 3,000 feet above the flat landscape of Romagna.

Getting Oriented

Emilia-Romagna owes its beginnings to the Romans, who built the Via Emilia in 187 BC. Today the road bisects the flat, foggy region, paralleling the Autostrada del Sole (A1), making it easy to drive straight through. Bologna is in the middle of everything, with Piacenza, Parma, and Modena to the northwest, and the Adriatic to the southeast. Ferrara and Ravenna are the only detours—they’re to the north of Via Emilia.

1 Emilia. A landscape of medieval castles and crumbling farmhouses begins just east of Milan, in the western half of Emilia-Romagna. You’ll find here the delicious delights of Parma, with its buttery prosciutto, famous cheese, and crenellated palaces. Next along the road, continuing east, comes Reggio Emilia, of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese fame, then Modena, the city of balsamic vinegar.

2 Bologna. Emilia’s principal cultural and intellectual center is famed for its arcaded sidewalks, grandiose medieval towers, and sublime restaurants.

3 Ferrara. This prosperous, tidy city to the north of Bologna has a rich medieval past and its own distinctive cuisine.

4 Romagna. The eastern half of Emilia-Romagna begins east of Bologna—where spa towns span to the north and south of the Via Emilia and the A1 Autostrada—and extends to the Adriatic. San Marino, south of Rimini, is an anomaly in every way. As its own tiny republic, it hangs implausibly on a cliff above the Romagna plain.

5 Ravenna. The main attractions of this well-preserved Romagna city are its memorable mosaics, glittering treasures left from Byzantine rule.

Planning

Making the Most of Your Time

Plan on spending at least two days or nights in Bologna, the region’s cultural and historical capital. You shouldn’t miss Parma, with its stunning food and graceful public spaces. Also plan on visiting Ferrara, a misty, mysterious medieval city. If you have time, go to Ravenna for its memorable Byzantine mosaics and Modena for its harmonious architecture and famous balsamic vinegar.

If you have only a few days in the region, it’s virtually impossible to do all five of those cities justice. If you’re a dedicated gourmand (or buona forchetta, as Italians say), move from Bologna west along the Via Emilia (SS9) to Modena and Parma. If you’re more interested in architecture, art, and history, choose the eastern route, heading north on the A13 to Ferrara and then southeast on the SS16 to Ravenna.

If you have more time, you won’t have to make such tough choices. You can start in Milan, go east, and finish on the Adriatic—or vice versa.

Getting Here and Around

Car Travel

Driving is the best way to get around Emilia-Romagna. Roads are wide, flat, and well marked; distances are short; and beautiful farmhouses and small villages offer undemanding detours. A car is particularly useful for visiting the spa towns of Romagna, which aren’t well connected by train. Historic centers are off-limits to cars, but they’re also quite walkable, so you may just want to park your car and get around on foot once you arrive.

Entering Emilia-Romagna by car is as easy as it gets. Coming in from the west on the Autostrada del Sole (A1), Piacenza will be the first city you’ll hit. It’s a mere 45 minutes southeast of Milan. On the other side of the region, Venice is about an hour from Ferrara by car on the A13.

Bologna is on the autostrada, so driving between cities is a breeze, though do take special care if you’re coming from Florence, as the road is winding and drivers speed. The Via Emilia (SS9), one of the oldest roads in the world, runs through the heart of the region. Straight, low-lying, and now thoroughly modern, its length can be traveled in a few hours. Although less scenic, the A1 toll highway, which runs parallel to the Via Emilia from Bologna, can get you where you’re going about twice as fast. From Bologna, the A13 runs north to Ferrara, and the A14 takes you east to Ravenna. Note that much of the historic center of Bologna is closed off to cars daily from 7 am to 8 pm.

Train Travel

When it comes to public transportation in the region, trains are better than buses—they’re fairly efficient, quite frequent, and most stations aren’t too far from the center of town. The railway line follows the Via Emilia (SS9). In Emilia it’s generally 30 to 45 minutes from one major city to the next. To reach Ferrara or Ravenna, you typically have to change to a local train at the Bologna station. Trains run often, and connections are easy. Ferrara is a half hour north of Bologna on the train, and Ravenna is just over an hour.

Bologna is an important rail hub for northern Italy and has frequent, fast service to Milan, Florence, Rome, and Venice. The routes from Bologna to the south usually go through Florence, which is an hour away. The high-speed train service Alta Velocità cuts the time from Milan to Bologna to only one hour. On the northeastern edge of the region, Venice is 1½ hours east of Ferrara by train. Check the website of the state railway, the Ferrovie dello Stato (www.trenitalia.com), for information, or stop in a travel agency, as many sell train tickets (without a markup) and agents often speak English.

Restaurants

Please note that restaurant prices listed as “Average Cost” include a meal consisting of first course (primo), second course (secondo), and dessert (dolce).

Hotels

Emilia-Romagna has a reputation for demonstrating a level of efficiency uncommon in most of Italy. Even the smallest hotels are usually well run, with high standards of quality and service. Bologna is very much a businessperson’s city, and many hotels here cater to the business traveler, but there are smaller, more intimate hotels as well. It’s smart to book in advance—the region hosts many fairs and conventions that can fill up hotels even during low season.

Though prices are sometimes high, you can expect an experience delightfully free of the condescending attitude that sometimes mars Italy’s tourist meccas.

Eating and Drinking Well in Emilia-Romagna

Italians rarely agree about anything, but most would say that the best food in the country is in Emilia-Romagna. Tortellini, fettuccine, Parmesan cheese, and balsamic vinegar are just a few of the Italian delicacies born here.

One of the beauties of Emilia-Romagna is that its exceptional food can be had without breaking the bank. Many trattorias serve up classic dishes, mastered over the centuries, at reasonable prices. Cutting-edge restaurants and wine bars are often more expensive; their inventive menus are full of fantasia—reinterpretations of the classics. For the budget-conscious, Bologna (being a university town) has great places for cheap eats.

Between meals, you can sustain yourself with the region’s famous sandwich, the piadina. It’s made with pita-thin bread, usually filled with prosciutto or mortadella, cheese, and vegetables; then put under the grill and served hot, with the cheese oozing at the sides. These addictive sandwiches can be savored at sit-down places or ordered to go.

The Real Ragù

Emilia-Romagna’s signature dish is tagliatelle al ragù (flat noodles with meat sauce), known as “spaghetti Bolognese” everywhere else. This primo is on every menu, and no two versions are the same. The sauce starts in a sauté pan with finely diced carrots, onions, and celery. Purists add nothing but minced beef, but some use guanciale (pork cheek), sausage, veal, or chicken. Regular ministrations of broth are added, and sometimes wine, milk, or cream. After a couple of hours of cooking, the ragù is ready to be joined with pasta and Parmesan and brought to the table.

Pork Products

It’s not just mortadella and cured pork products like prosciutto and culatello that Emilia-Romagnans go crazy for—they’re wild about the whole hog.

You’ll frequently find cotechino and zampone, both secondi (second courses), on menus. Cotechino , is a savory, thick, fresh sausage served with lentils on New Year’s Day (the combination is said to augur well for the new year) and with mashed potatoes year-round. Zampone, a stuffed pig’s foot, is redolent of garlic and deliciously fatty.

Bollito Misto

The name means “mixed boil,” and they do it exceptionally well in this part of Italy. According to Emilia-Romagnans, it was invented here (its true origins are up for grabs, as other northern Italians, especially from Milan and the Piedmont, would argue this point). Chicken, beef, tongue, and zampone are tossed into a stockpot and boiled; they’re then removed from the broth and served with a fragrant salsa verde (green sauce), made green by parsley and spiced with anchovies, garlic, and capers. This simple yet rich dish is usually served with mashed potatoes on the side, and savvy diners will mix some of the piquant salsa verde into the potatoes as well.

Stuffed Pasta

Among the many Emilian variations on stuffed pasta, tortellini (), are the smallest.Tortelli (), andcappellacci are larger pasta “pillows,” about the size of a brussels sprout, but with the same basic form as tortellini. They’re often filled with pumpkin or spinach and cheese.

Tortelloni are, in theory, even bigger, although their sizes vary. Stuffed pastas are generally served simply, with melted butter, sage, and (what else?) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, or (in the case of tortellini) in brodo (in beef, chicken, or capon broth—or a combination of any of them), which brings out the subtle richness of the filling.

Wines

Emilia-Romagna’s wines accompany the region’s fine food rather than vying with it for accolades. The best known is Lambrusco, a sparkling red produced on the Po Plain that has some admirers and many detractors. It’s praised for its tartness and condemned for the same quality. The region’s best wines include Sangiovese di Romagna (somewhat similar to Chianti), from the Romagnan hills, and Barbera, from the Colli Piacetini and Apennine foothills. Castelluccio, Bonzara, Zerbina, Leone Conti, and Tre Monti are among the region’s top producers—keep an eye out for their bottles.

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