Landmarks in Emilia Romagna

The territory is one wide plain, among the largest in Western Europe, crossed by a network of rivers flowing into the majestic Po, whose large delta is always changing the face of the coastline. A land whose capital Bologna well impersonates the spirit of the region, called as it is the "dotta" (=cultured) and "grassa" (=fat), to which another feature must be added today, the fashionable night-life of the Riviera.

The region, with a territory mostly plain and the great fertility of the land thanks to the presence of the Po river, was a necessary passage from the north of Italy and Europe to Rome. In the 11th century Matilde di Canossa had built a network of 120 castles to defend and control the region. Later in Renaissance times rose the elegant mansions of the dukes of Ferrara, Modena, Parma.

Today some of these beautifully renovated buildings host museums and exhibitions as well as restaurants and hotels offering the renowned hospitality and world-famous cuisine of the region.