| Emilia | |
 | |
| State | Italy |
|---|---|
| Region | Emilia Romagna |
| Capital | Bologna |
Emilia is a historical region ofItaly.
To know
Geographical notes
The region extends between the Po which marks its border to the north (except for the stretch where it borders the Lombard Oltrepò Mantua), the ridge of the Apennines to the south, theOltrepò Pavese to the west and the Adriatic Sea and the Romagna East. Orographically, it is distinguished in the Po Valley in the northern belt, the Apennine chain in the southern belt, the Adriatic coast in the east.
The very fertile plain is intensely cultivated; it is rich in water and is crossed by innumerable rivers and streams that originate in the Apennines and then all flow into the Po, except the Reno which flows directly into the Adriatic, like the rivers and streams of Romagna. A large marshy area, of considerable environmental interest but also productive for fishing, is the area called Valleys of Comacchio between the plain and the Emilian Adriatic coast.
The Apennine mountains are furrowed by numerous streams that run through as many valleys; the main valleys are perpendicular to the ridge, where we find the highest peaks that exceed 2000 meters above sea level in the Frignano: above a thousand meters in Piacenza hills and inParma Apennines; the other Emilian areas have poorer reliefs, below a thousand meters.
Background
There are numerous prehistoric finds throughout the region, where several have been located terramare; important is the civilization called by scholars Villanovan. The Etruscans populated the area until the Roman colonization. With the construction of the Via Emilia, which still crosses the entire region, and the foundation of numerous important cities along its route, Emilia was deeply Romanized. Remains of the Latin era are present almost everywhere along its path. They were Roman cities on the Via Emilia Piacenza, Fidenza, Parma, Reggio, Modena, Bologna; on Piacenza hills archaeological excavations have given us the vestiges of the Roman city of Velleia, which someone calls with a little emphasis - actually exaggerating a bit - the Pompeii of the north; the site is however of great interest.
At the fall of the Roman Empire, the Lombard invasions (VI century) and Franca (VIII century) saw the creation of state bodies such as the duchies in almost all of Emilia.
The era of the Municipalities saw the birth of free cities, which were then destined to be incorporated into the territories of the first Lordships that were being formed. Parma and Piacenza are incorporated by the Visconti of Milan; Modena and Reggio by the Este family of Ferrara; Bologna, after the attempts of lordship carried out by the Bentivoglio, becomes a papal possession. The historical evolution leads the region to consolidate - for some territories up to the Unification - in the great Duchies of Parma and Piacenza; of Modena; of Ferrara, as well as some small principalities in the lower plain (Carpi, Correggio, Mirandola) of lesser success. Bologna is papal territory together with the Romagna.
In the territories of the pre-unification Emilian states a considerable individuality is created, so much so that even today in the cities of the region that were capital I don't know what of the past prestige that makes them unique, as well as splendid for the wealth of monuments and urban elegance. The revolutionary uprisings united the various regional states to Piedmont, bringing their history together in the wider Italian events.
2012 earthquake
In January 2012 and then in May 2012 strong earthquakes struck a large area of the Region, seriously damaging numerous centers of the Emilian Po Valley between the Autostrada del Sole and the course of the Po, especially in the areas of Modena and the neighboring areas of Ferrara. and Reggio Emilia, also involvingOltrepò Mantua belonging to Lombardy but orographically part of theEmilia. The earthquake, which also claimed numerous victims, struck the historic centers of numerous cities, causing the loss of ancient monuments and damaging many others. The centers of the plain Modenese most affected were Final Emilia, Novi of Modena, San Felice sul Panaro, Medolla, Cavezzo, Mirandola, Concordia on the Secchia, San Possidonio, Carpi, San Prospero.
In Ferrara the greatest damages were recorded a Bondeno, One hundred, Vigarano Mainarda, Poggio Renatico. Many also i centers with serious collapses in the Mantuan Oltrepò.
Culture and traditions
- Carnival : One Hundred Carnival of Europe to One hundred, Busseto Carnival is Persicetan Historical Carnival to San Giovanni in Persiceto.
Territories and tourist destinations
Urban centers
- Bologna - Bologna the erudite, because it is the seat of the oldest and for a long time the most prestigious university in Europe; but also Bologna the fat one, because hunger is not a good ally of the study. Here then the fame of its mortadella and its tortellini goes hand in hand with its cultural traditions, the beauty of its arcades and its monumental streets, of San Petronio and of the Madonna di San Luca which dominates from the top of a hill and watches over the city.
- Bobbio - It was a center of culture and power with its famous Abbey of San Colombano; borderland, it was Piedmontese, Lombard, Ligurian and now Emilian. It retains a respectable historic center. It is now a city of cultural tourism, summer residence and winter sports with sports facilities in the area of Pass of the Penice.
- Carpi - The modern city is an important industrial center in the knitwear sector, as well as a commercial center. The ancient city was the capital of the Pio, noble family who made it their own state from the fourteenth century to the early decades of the sixteenth century, leaving us the beauty of its urban layout with the large square dominated by the castle, one of the most scenic squares not only in Emilia but of all northern Italy.
- Comacchio - It extends over 13 islets, between a tangle of canals and bridges that give it a lagoon and Venetian air. It has beautiful monuments, and in its vicinity boasts the ancient settlement of Spina, a Greek-Etruscan city whose excavations have yielded numerous archaeological material now kept in the Museum of Ferrara, and the famous Pomposa Abbey.
- Ferrara - The city and the Este family are inseparable. The house of Este had Ferrara from the early thirteenth century until the end of the sixteenth century, when it returned to the papal possessions. Such and such was the imprint given to it by the Este, that there is no mention of the long papal period, except to indicate it as a period of its decline. A few industries and a lot of agricultural production are the sources of its economy; good is also the tourist activity in this city of art which reduces its peripheral position a little.
- Fidenza - Second city of Parma for population and economic importance, which comes mainly from agricultural, commercial and industrial activities, the ancient Borgo San Donnino binds its fame above all to its Romanesque cathedral which is one of the most beautiful and artistically important sacred buildings of the region. .
- Guastalla - The Duchy of Parma in the final period of its existence was officially named Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla. The third capital however, it was clouded by the dominant Parma, as it happened in Piacenza. Guastalla, however, was the capital for real, of a Duchy of its own governed by a cadet branch of the Gonzaga family, who made it a respectable Renaissance city, with beautiful monuments and a starry wall, with mighty bastions that were destroyed in the Six hundred. The star layout of the walls can still be recognized in the city plan. .
- Modena - It was the capital of the Duchy when the Este moved there after losing Ferrara. An important road and railway junction, it is a city of industry between the Secchia and Panaro rivers. Its Cathedral is a magnificent Romanesque work of art mentioned in all art history manuals. The famous is nationally known of its rich gastronomy zampone of Modena. .
- Parma - The city of Parma ham and violets, Maria Luigia and Verdi, Parmigiano Reggiano and the University, the beautiful Romanesque Cathedral and Correggio, the Farnese and Parmigianino, the Bourbons and the Charterhouse of Parma of Stendhalian memory: there are many excellences and beauties, the charm and the myths of this city that still lives as if it were always a capital.
- Piacenza - Younger sister in the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, it was its first capital for a short period. On the eastern edge of the region, look more at Milan that a Bologna, is Emilian but also a little Lombard. Road and railway junction, on the right bank of the Po, it preserves a beautiful historic center with considerable monuments and an elegant urban layout.
- Reggio Emilia - It was a city of Roman foundation along the Via Emilia. Free Municipality, it was then part of the Duchy of Modena until the Unification. It was the center of fervent Risorgimento activity, which led it to be the cradle of the Italian flag. It has a solid economy based on agricultural trade and a good industrial structure. Its historic center has a medieval urban layout. .
- Sassuolo - It has had a dizzying modern development linked to the flourishing of the ceramic industry - floor and wall tiles. From its past it preserves an imposing Palazzo Ducale or Palazzo Estense, now the seat of the Military Academy of Modena, with richly frescoed rooms.
How to get
By plane
They are airports in the region:
- 1 Bologna airport (G.Marconi), Via Triumvirato 84, ☎ 39 051 6479615.
- 2 Parma airport (G. Verdi), Via Emilia - Golese locality, ☎ 39 0521 951511.
By car
Emilia is connected through:
the A1 (passing through Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena is Bologna) with the Lombardy and the Tuscany
the A13 (plus the branch Ferrara - Porto Garibaldi) with the Veneto
the A14 with Marche
the A22 with Lombardy and Veneto
the A15 with the Liguria
the A21 (plus the branch Fiorenzuola d'Arda) with Lombardy and the Piedmont
the A1 (passing through 
the A13 (plus the branch 
the A14 with 
the A22 with Lombardy and Veneto
the A15 with the 
the A21 (plus the branch How to get around
What see
Emilia has, for each period of the history of art, notable excellences, among which can be cited:
Pre-Roman era
- Excavations of Marzabotto (in Marzabotto). remains of an ancient Etruscan city, perhaps Misa.
Roman times
- Excavations of Velleia —.
from 9 to one hour before sunset.. The village, located in the Piacenza Apennines, is known for its Archaeological excavations which in 1747 brought to light important ancient finds Veleia from Roman times. It was municipium Roman at the head of a vast Apennine area; flourishing in the 1st century AD, it was inhabited until the 5th century.
from 9 to one hour before sunset.. The village, located in the Piacenza Apennines, is known for its Archaeological excavations which in 1747 brought to light important ancient finds Veleia from Roman times. It was municipium Roman at the head of a vast Apennine area; flourishing in the 1st century AD, it was inhabited until the 5th century.Romanesque art
- Modena Cathedral (to Modena).
- Parma Cathedral (to Parma).
- Cathedral of Fidenza (to Fidenza).
- Piacenza Cathedral (to Piacenza).
- 1 Pomposa Abbey (Codigoro). Located in the municipality of Codigoro near the Romea state road. It is an abbey dating back to the ninth century of which several environments survive. Inside the church of Santa Maria there are important fourteenth-century frescoes by Vitale from Bologna and help. Other rooms with fourteenth-century frescoes from the Giotto school are found in the chapter house, while they belong to Pietro da Rimini and those visible in the refectory at the Rimini school. The Pomposian Museum is housed in the former dormitory and collects torn frescoes, capitals and other materials from the abbey.
Gothic art
- Church of S. Francesco (to Bologna).
- Church of San Petronio (to Bologna).
- Town Hall (precisely called Il Gotico) (to Piacenza).
- Ferrara Cathedral (to Ferrara).
Renaissance art
- Palace of the Diamonds (to Ferrara).
- Schifanoia Palace (to Ferrara).
- Palace of Lodovico il Moro (to Ferrara).
Other monuments
- 2 [link not working]Ducal Palace of Sassuolo, Piazzale della Rosa, 41049 Sassuolo Modena (By car Motorway exit: Modena Nord - A1, ring road, following the signs for Sassuolo. By train From Modena: from the Central Railway Station. From Reggio Emilia: from the Central Railway Station. Info: FER, tel. 800 915 030 By bus Connections are ensured by public transport with several daily trips. Info: ATCM Modena, tel. 840 000 216; ACT Reggio Emilia, tel. 0522 442200), ☎ 39 0536 184 4853.
Full: Euro 4.00 Reduced: Euro 2.00 Cumulative ticket with Galleria Estense: Euro 6.00 Reduction and free admission as required by the rules for state museums. The Este "delight" of Sassuolo, the summer residence of the dukes of Ferrara.
Full: Euro 4.00 Reduced: Euro 2.00 Cumulative ticket with Galleria Estense: Euro 6.00 Reduction and free admission as required by the rules for state museums. The Este "delight" of Sassuolo, the summer residence of the dukes of Ferrara.Itineraries
- Castles of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza - Scattered over the Parma and Piacenza Apennines, but also present in the plain to guard the natural border of the Po, the numerous castles of the ancient Duchy of Parma and Piacenza characterize the whole area. Originally military bulwarks, many of them have kept the appearance of an inaccessible fortress, many have gradually transformed their war nature into a refined noble residence; all perpetuate over time the atmosphere of adventure, fairytale and legend that has always been linked to castles, many of which tell of the presence of spirits and ghosts.
