Dictionary:
E·mi·lia-Ro·ma·gna (ĕ-mēl'yə-rō-mä'nyä) 
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[eh-MEE-lyah raw-MAH-nyah] Diverse wine-producing region located in northern Italy, north of tuscany and south of lombardy and veneto. Its capital city is Bologna. Emilia-Romagna is renowned for its food and food products and is the home of Parmesan cheese and Parma hams. There are about 145,000 vineyard acres in a diverse number of winegrowing areas spread among the plains and the hills of both the Emilia and Romagna sectors. The great flat plain of the Emilia area around Modena produces huge volumes of red wine from the lambrusco grape and its many subvarieties. In the hilly regions around Colli Bolognesi and Colli Piacentini the principal grapes for red wine are barbera and bonarda. In Romagna, albana and trebbiano are the primary white grapes, and sangiovese is the primary red grape. Emilia-Romagna has one docg, albana di romagna, about which there is a great deal of controversy. The general sentiment is that this growing area received DOCG status more through political posturing than through the quality of its wines. Emilia-Romagna also has the following doc areas: Bosco Eliceo, Cagnina di Romagna, colli bolognesi, Colli della Romagna Centrale, Colli di Faenza, Colli di Parma, Colli di Rimini, Colli di Scandiano e Canossa, Colli d'Imola, colli piacentini, Lambrusco di Sorbara, Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, Pagadebit di Romagna, Reggiano, Reno, Romagna Albana Spumante, Sangiovese di Romagna, and Trebbiano di Romagna.
| Wikipedia: Emilia-Romagna |
| Emilia-Romagna | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Region of Italy — | |||
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| Country | Italy | ||
| Capital | Bologna | ||
| Government | |||
| - President | Vasco Errani (Democratic Party (Italy)) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 22,124 km2 (8,542.1 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2008-09-30) | |||
| - Total | 4,323,830 | ||
| - Density | 195.4/km2 (506.2/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| GDP/ Nominal | € 128.8 billion (2006) | ||
| NUTS Region | ITD | ||
| Website | www.regione.emilia-romagna.it | ||
Emilia-Romagna (pronounced [eˈmiljaroˈmaɲɲa]) is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of 20,124 km² and about 4.3 million inhabitants.
Emilia Romagna today is considered as one of the richest and most developed regions in Europe and has the third highest by GDP per capita in Italy.[1] Bologna, the region's capital, has one of Italy's highest quality of life,[2] and has highly advanced and modern social services. Emilia-Romagna is also a major cultural and touristic centre, being the home of the oldest university in the Western World,[3] containing numerous Renaissance cities (such as Modena, Parma and Ferrara), being a major centre for food and automobile production (Emilia-Romagna is home of numerous iconic gastronomical and automotive industries, such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Barilla) and having a lively and colourful coastline, with numerous tourist resorts, such as Cattolica and Rimini.
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The region of Emilia-Romagna consists of nine provinces and covers an area of 22,124 km². Nearly half of the region (50%) consists of plains while 25% is hilly and 25% mountainous. The Emilia-Romagna section of the Apennine Mountains is marked by areas of flisch, badland erosion (calanques) and caves. The mountains stretch for more than 300 km from the north to the south-east, with only three peaks above 2,000 m - Monte Cimone (2,165 m), Monte Cusna (2,121 m) and Alpe di Succiso (2,017 m).
About a half of the region consists of the Padan Plain, an extremely fertile alluvial plain crossed by the river Po. The plain was formed by the gradual retreat of the sea from the Po basin and by the detritus deposited by the rivers. Almost entirely marshland in ancient times, its history is characterised by the hard work of its people to reclaim and reshape the land in order to achieve a better standard of living. The geology varies, with lagoons and saline areas in the north and many thermal springs throughout the rest of the region as a result of groundwater rising towards the surface at different periods of history. All the rivers rise locally in the Apennines except for the Po, which has its source in the Alps in Piedmont and follows the northern border of Emilia-Romagna for 263 km.
Vegetation in the region may be divided into belts: the common oak belt which is now covered (apart from the mesóla forest) with fruit orchards and fields of wheat and sugar beet, the pubescent belt and Adriatic oak belt on the lower slopes up to 900 m, the beech belt between 1,000 and 1,500 m, and the final mountain heath belt.
The name Emilia-Romagna has roots in the Ancient Rome legacy in these lands. Emilia refers to via Æmilia, an important Roman way connecting Rome to the northern part of Italy. Romagna is a corruption of Romània; when Ravenna was the capital of the Italian portion of the Byzantine Empire, the Lombards extended the official name of the Empire to the lands around Ravenna. Emilia-Romagna was part of the Etruscan world and in following was passed on to the Gauls and then the Romans. The romans built the Aemilian Way, for which the region was named. The coastal area of Emilia, which was ruled under the Byzantines from 540 to 751, became known as the separate region of Romagna.
During the Middle Ages trading activities, culture and religion flourished thanks to the region's monasteries and the University of Bologna - the oldest university in Europe - its bustling towns, and its politics - embodied in the historic figure of Matilda of Canossa. In the Renaissance, it became the seat for refined seigniories such as the House of Este of Ferrara and the Malatesta of Rimini. In the centuries that followed, the region was divided between the rule of the Papal State, the Farnese Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, and the Duchy of Modena and Reggio. In the 16th century, most of these were included into the Papal States, but the territory of Parma, Piacenza, and Modena remained independent until Emilia-Romagna was included into the Italian kingdom in 1859–1861.
Emilia Romagna today is considered as one of the richest European regions and the third Italian region by GDP per capita [4]. These results were achieved developing a very well balanced economy based on the biggest agricultural sector in Italy, and on a secular tradition in automobile, motor and mechanic productions.
In spite of the depth and variety of industrial activities in the region, agriculture has not been eclipsed. Emilia-Romagna is among the leading regions in the country, with farming contributing 5.8% of the regional agricultural product. The agricultural sector has aimed for increased competitiveness by means of structural reorganisation and high-quality products, and this has led to the success of marketed brands. Cereals, potatoes, maize, tomatoes and onions are the most important products, along with fruit and grapes for the production of wine (of which the most famous are perhaps Lambrusco, Sangiovese, Pignoletto and Albana). Cattle and hog breeding are also highly developed. Farm cooperatives have been working along these lines in recent years. With their long tradition in the region there are now about 8,100 cooperatives, generally in the agricultural sector and mainly located in the provinces of Bologna (2,160) and Forli (1,300)[5].
Industry in the region presents a varied and complex picture and is located along the Via Emilia. The food industry (e.g. Barilla Group) is particularly concentrated in Parma, Modena and Bologna as well as the mechanical and automotive (e.g., Ferrari, Ducati, Lamborghini, Maserati, Pagani ). The ceramic sector is concentrated in Faenza and Sassuolo). Tourism is increasingly important, especially along the Adriatic coastline and the cities of art. The regional economy is more geared to export markets than other regions in the country: the main exports are from mechanical engineering (53%), the extraction of non-metallic minerals (13%) and the clothing industry (10%)[5].
The region of Emilia-Romagna has a very good system of transport, with 574 km of motorways, 1053 km of railways and airports in Bologna, Forli and Rimini. The main motorway crosses the region from north-west (Piacenza) to the south-east (Adriatic coast), connecting the main cities of Parma, Modena, Bologna, and from here further to Ravenna and to Rimini [5].
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | %± |
| 1861 | 2,083,000 | — |
| 1871 | 2,228,000 | 7.0% |
| 1881 | 2,289,000 | 2.7% |
| 1901 | 2,547,000 | 11.3% |
| 1911 | 2,813,000 | 10.4% |
| 1921 | 3,077,000 | 9.4% |
| 1931 | 3,267,000 | 6.2% |
| 1936 | 3,339,000 | 2.2% |
| 1951 | 3,544,000 | 6.1% |
| 1961 | 3,667,000 | 3.5% |
| 1971 | 3,847,000 | 4.9% |
| 1981 | 3,958,000 | 2.9% |
| 1991 | 3,910,000 | −1.2% |
| 2001 | 3,983,000 | 1.9% |
| 2008 (Est.) | 4,324,000 | 8.6% |
| Source: ISTAT 2001 | ||
The population density, which was equal to 195 inhabitants per km2 in 2008 is just below the national average. The population of this region is traditionally well distributed, so there is not a dominant metropolis but an axis of medium size cities along the Via Emilia, where the majority of regional industrial production is concentrated. Also the coast of Romagna is densely populated thanks to the huge boom of the seaside tourism in the last decades. In the peripherical areas of the Apennine Mountains and the agricultural plains around Ferrara and Piacenza the population is less dense.
Emilia-Romagna has thirteen cities above 50,000 (based on 2006 estimates): Bologna (pop. 374,425), Modena (pop. 180,638), Parma (pop. 177,069), Reggio Emilia (pop. 167,013), Ravenna (pop. 149,084), Rimini (pop. 138,060), Ferrara (pop. 131,907), Forlì (pop. 112,477), Piacenza (pop. 99,340), Cesena (pop. 93,857), Imola (pop. 66,340), Carpi (pop. 64,517) and Faenza (pop. 54,749).
As of 2008, the Italian national institute of statistics (ISTAT) estimated that 365,687 foreign-born immigrants lived in Emilia-Romagna, equal to 8.5% of the total regional population.
The Regional Government (Giunta Regionale) is presided by the President of the Region (Presidente della Regione), who is elected for a five-year term, and is composed by the President, the Ministers (Assessori), who are currently 12, including a Vice President and one Under-Secretary for in President's office.[6]
Emilia-Romagna, except the province of Piacenza, was historically a stronghold of the Italian Communist Party, and now is a stronghold of center-left coalitions, forming with Tuscany, Umbria and Marche the famous Italian political "Red Quadrilateral". Probably this is because of a strong tradition of anti-clericalism dating from the 19th century, when part of Emilia-Romagna belonged of the Papal States (mostly Romagna and Bologna, in Emilia there were two independent states). At the April 2006 elections, Emilia-Romagna gave about 60% of its votes to Romano Prodi.
Emilia-Romagna is divided into nine provinces:
| Province | Area (km²) | Population | Density (inh./km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Province of Bologna | 3,702 | 973,295 | 262.9 |
| Province of Ferrara | 2,632 | 357,471 | 135.8 |
| Province of Forlì-Cesena | 2,377 | 387,200 | 162.9 |
| Province of Modena | 2,689 | 686,104 | 255.1 |
| Province of Parma | 3,449 | 431,419 | 125.1 |
| Province of Piacenza | 2,589 | 284,885 | 110.0 |
| Province of Ravenna | 1,858 | 383,945 | 206.6 |
| Province of Reggio Emilia | 2,293 | 517,374 | 225.6 |
| Province of Rimini | 534 | 302,137 | 565.8 |
Emilia-Romagna is the main setting for Bernardo Bertolucci's epic 1900.
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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| Wine Lover's Companion. Wine Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2003 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Emilia-Romagna". Read more |
