What to See in Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Emilia-Romagna is a region in northern Italy where Roman roads, medieval cities, renowned food traditions, manufacturing and Adriatic resorts meet. The best places to visit range from Bologna and Parma to Ravenna, Modena and Rimini, each revealing a different part of the region’s history and character. Neywo offers free audio guides for 9 cities in Emilia-Romagna, with 743 narrated places across 26 walking tours.

What to see and do in Emilia-Romagna

Follow the history of Bologna

Bologna is the regional capital and an important railway hub in northern Italy. Its history reflects the wider story of Emilia-Romagna: Roman influence, medieval power and the growth of a modern city connected to the region’s transport and production networks. Among the places covered by Neywo are the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, the Basilica of San Domenico, palazzo dei Notai and palazzo del Podestà. Explore more with the Bologna city guide.

Discover Parma’s artistic and musical heritage

Parma is one of the region’s important historic cities, with a rich cultural tradition closely connected to the wider agricultural and food-producing landscape. Its narrated places include Parma Cathedral, palazzo del Giardino, the Galleria nazionale di Parma and Teatro Regio (Parma). Together, they offer a route through the city’s religious, civic, artistic and theatrical history. The Parma guide covers 184 narrated places.

See Modena’s cathedral and ducal past

Modena brings together Romanesque religious architecture, court history and the region’s modern industrial identity. The city’s highlights include Modena Cathedral, the Ducal Palace of Modena, Galleria Estense and Palazzina Vigarani. Modena is also part of the region’s automobile story: Emilia-Romagna is associated with Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati, while the province of Modena is home to Maranello. Continue with the guides to Modena and Maranello.

Explore Ravenna’s Christian monuments

Ravenna preserves the eastern inheritance contained in the region’s name. Romagna comes from Romània, the name used for Ravenna when it stood as an eastern outpost after the Western Roman Empire had ended. The city’s narrated places include the Basilica of San Vitale, the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, the Baptistry of Neon and the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo. The Ravenna guide covers 91 places.

Visit Ferrara’s historic buildings

Ferrara is another major destination for understanding Emilia-Romagna’s political and cultural past. Its 192 narrated places include Ferrara Cathedral, Palazzina Marfisa d’Este, Chiesa del monastero del Corpus Domini and Castello di Fossa d’Albero. The city provides a substantial itinerary through religious buildings, historic residences and other sites shaped by the region’s long medieval and post-medieval history. Plan your visit with the Ferrara guide.

Experience the food culture

Food is one of the clearest ways to understand Emilia-Romagna. The region is known for egg pasta and filled pasta made with soft wheat flour. In Bologna, sfoglini prepare the sfoglia, the pasta sheet used for dishes such as tortellini, lasagne, gramigna and tagliatelle. Recipes vary from place to place.

Romagna has its own repertoire, including garganelli, strozzapreti, sfoglia lorda and tortelli alla lastra. Food production belongs to a broader economy that combines agriculture and manufacturing, while gastronomy and wine-making remain central to the region’s identity. A simple sheet of dough can therefore tell the story of local skills, farming and regional differences.

See the automotive side of the region

Emilia-Romagna’s modern identity is also shaped by mechanical engineering and the automobile industry. Maranello, in the province of Modena, is home to Scuderia Ferrari’s motorsports division. Neywo’s Maranello guide includes the Galleria Ferrari and Maranello Castle, making the town a compact stop for visitors interested in both automotive heritage and local history.

Walk through Imola

Imola combines historic buildings, museums and memories of the region’s political past. Neywo covers 53 narrated places, including Palazzo Sersanti, the Centro imolese documentazione Resistenza antifascista, the Diocesan Museum Pius IX and Museo Checco Costa. The Imola guide helps place these sites within the city’s broader story.

Visit Cesenatico on the Adriatic coast

The Adriatic coastline gives Emilia-Romagna a different atmosphere from its inland cities. Resorts such as Cesenatico, Cervia and Rimini draw visitors, while the coast remains connected to the region’s wider network of towns and industries. In Cesenatico, Neywo covers the Marino Moretti house museum, the Maritime Museum of Cesenatico, Cesenatico and San Giacomo Apostolo Church. See the Cesenatico guide.

Explore Rimini’s city and museums

Rimini is one of the region’s best-known Adriatic destinations, but its story extends beyond the coast. Its 72 narrated places include Castel Sismondo, Palazzo dell’Arengo, the City Museum of Rimini and Museo degli Sguardi. The city shows how seaside tourism fits into a region with a much longer urban and cultural history. Discover it with the Rimini guide.

A landscape shaped by people

Nearly half of Emilia-Romagna is plain, formed as the sea retreated from the Po basin and rivers deposited layers of sediment. Beyond the plains, the land rises through hills to the Apennines, which extend from the north towards the southeast. Their landscapes include flysch, badland erosion known as calanques and caves. Only three peaks rise above 2,000 metres.

This is not an untouched landscape. Wetlands were reclaimed, cities were built and large agricultural areas were established. From the 1960s, some farmland gave way to homes and industry. In the hills and mountains, abandoned farmland led instead to the growth of more semi-natural areas. The result is a region where cultivated plains, industrial cities, hills and mountain environments have all been reshaped over centuries.

From the Via Aemilia to modern Italy

The name Emilia-Romagna joins two historical worlds. Emilia comes from the Via Aemilia, the Roman road completed in 187 BC between Piacenza and Rimini. Romagna comes from Romània, the name associated with Ravenna after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Before Rome, the land belonged first to the Etruscan world and later to the Gauls. During the first thousand years of Christianity, monasteries helped trade, culture and religion flourish. The Lombards later founded their kingdom across northern and central Italy, while northern Italy entered the changing orbit of the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages. The Papal States controlled much of the future region, while Parma, Piacenza and Modena remained independent. Emilia-Romagna became part of the Italian kingdom between 1859 and 1861.

Today, factories, farms, cities and transport routes remain closely connected. Mechanical engineering is the region’s leading export field, while food production and the automobile industry are also central. A main motorway crosses the region from Piacenza towards the Adriatic coast, linking cities including Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and Bologna. Ravenna’s port is the region’s largest.

Explore Emilia-Romagna with Neywo

Download Neywo to explore Emilia-Romagna with free audio guides for 9 cities, 26 walking tours and 743 narrated places in total. Narration is available in 11 languages.

The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Choose a city, start walking and let the stories connect Emilia-Romagna’s food, history, landscapes and urban life as you explore.