EMILIA-ROMAGNA
Where Italy Comes to Eat
Ragù, Parmigiano, balsamic, and Ferrari — the region that invented the good life and never stopped refining it.
There is an argument — made quietly, by people who have eaten well across this country — that Emilia-Romagna is the most important region in Italy. Not the most beautiful. Not the most cinematic. But the most important, in the way that foundations are important: you build everything else on top of them.
This is where Parmigiano-Reggiano ages in mountain air, where balsamic vinegar darkens in wooden barrels for decades, where Enzo Ferrari was born and where his cars are still built. The Via Emilia — the Roman road that cuts the region in a straight line from Piacenza to Rimini — is one of the great organizing principles of Italian geography. Everything worth knowing exists within a short drive of it.
Don't come looking for Tuscany. Come looking for something older, richer, and considerably better fed.
WHEN TO COME
April through June, and September through October. Summer in the Po Valley is hot and humid. Autumn is the right season — harvest tables, porcini from the Apennines, and Parmigiano production in full swing.
HOW TO MOVE
By train between the cities — Bologna is forty minutes from Florence on the high-speed line, two hours from Milan. By car everywhere else. The Apennine roads south of the Via Emilia are among the most rewarding drives in northern Italy.
WHO IT'S FOR
Travelers who eat seriously. Those who want to understand where Italian food actually comes from. Anyone willing to trade the view for the table.
EXPLORE EMILIA-ROMAGNA
Choose Your Corner
