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North of Apulia and south of the Veneto, the central part of Italy's
eastern seaboard is a summertime mecca for northern Europeans, particularly
the thousands of Germans who flock to its miles and miles of sandy beaches.
Indeed, if you are looking for an extremely well organized resort area where
hundreds of decent if simple hotels offer full board at rock bottom prices,
the coast of Emilia Romagna is the place for you. Just about any outdoor
activity you can think of is readily available, and the fun doesn't stop
when the sun goes down. So numerous are the night clubs and discotheques
that in
Rimini, the pulsating hub of all these vacation thrills, there is
even a bus that circles all evening dropping revelers off at one
establishment after another.
Of course, there are other faces to this region. It starts in the north,
where huge fishing nets and tiny fishermen's huts dot the broad silent
wetlands of the Po River Delta. To the south and west are the rich farmlands
of Emilia Romagna, once the breadbasket of the Roman Empire. If you're
coming straight from the picturesque valleys of Tuscany, this seemingly
endless flat terrain may appear uninteresting at first. And yet how
appealing is each steeple and belltower as it rises out of the horizon; how
personable is each town and city.
Bologna,
Parma,
Modena,
Reggio Emilia and
Urbino should be on every visitor's itinerary.
Art: Important Roman traces can be found in Rimini and in
Ravenna,
capital of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth and sixth centuries A.D.,
with its magnificent monuments of the Christian-Byzantine period (the
exquisite mosaics). Examples of the Romanesque Longobard style can be found
in the Cathedrals of Modena,
Piacenza e Ferrara; the Baptistery of Parma
offers the visitors some important sculptural works. Piacenza and Bologna
have valuable examples of Gothic style, but also of the Renaissance and
Baroque styles.
Museums: In Bologna: the Pinacoteca Nazionale, with three sections
devoted to painting, from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century; the
Museum of Industrial Art, which exhibits furniture, objects and sacred
relics, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century; the Civic Archaeologic
Museum, which houses very interesting prehistoric and Etruscan relics.
Ferrara has the Cathedral’s Museum, which holds sacred relics, paintings and
sculptures; the Civic Museum, which displays bronze, ceramics and frescoes;
the National Archaeologic Museum, that houses precious ceramics (Attic vases
with red figures); the Pinacoteca Nazionale with pictorial works from the
fourteenth century to the present day. Ravenna, ancient link between the
Roman and the Byzantine worlds, has the National Museum with many relics of
the Roman and Early Christian Age; the Archiepiscopal Museum with an
interesting collection of works from the Ancient Cathedral. In Modena there
are the famous Estense Gallery, where marvelous paintings can be admired;
the Estense Museum, the Museum of Risorgimento and the Estense Epigraphic
Museum.
To be visited: In Ravenna: the splendid Mausoleum of Galla
Placidia, erected in the fifth century A.D. and the tomb of the great poet
Dante; the Mausoleum of Theodoric and the magnificent basilica of
Sant’Apollinare in Classe.
Bologna
Over the centuries, Bologna has acquired many nicknames. "Bologna the
learned" ("Bologna la dotta") is a reference to its famous university.
"Bologna the fat" ("Bologna la grassa") refers to its cuisine.
 Bologna is also called "Bologna the red" (Bologna rossa) due to its
abundance of brick buildings. The historic town center is indeed striking,
with its medieval street plan, leaning towers, and brightly colored
buildings in shades of red and orange. The townscape is further enriched by
elegant and extensive arcades. "Bologna the red" has also been said to refer
to the city's left-leaning politics. Until the election of a centre-right
mayor in 1999, the city was a historic bastion of socialism and communism.
The centre-left gained power again in the 2004 mayoral elections, with the
election of Sergio Cofferati. It was one of the first European settlements
to experiment with the concept of "free" public transport.
Another nickname for Bologna is Basket City, referring to Bologna's
obsession with basketball, unusual for football-dominated Italy. The local
derby between the city's two principal basketball clubs, Fortitudo and
Virtus (often called after the clubs' principal sponsors), is one of the
most intense in the entire world of sports. Violence has been largely absent
in the derby.
Football is still a hugely popular sport in Bologna; the main local club
is the Serie A team Bologna F.C. 1909.
Bologna is home to
Guglielmo Marconi International Airport. Its central
location also makes it northern Italy's major train hub.
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Hotels Bologna |
Last Minute Hotels Bologna |
 Top
Hotel Park Bologna 
Located in the heart of the Emila Romagna Region, The Top Hotel Park Bologna
is strategically positioned at the centre of one of most important business
and tourist junctions of Central Italy. Just a few minutes away from
Bologna’s historical centre and the lively Colli Bolognesi hills, the
property is minutes from dining, shopping, and entertainment venues. The
hotel boasts 142 comfortable guest rooms that are designed to provide
maximum comfort. Set in a restrained and elegant atmosphere, guided by
attentive and proficient staff, the onsite restaurant serves the true
flavours of Emilia Romagna cuisine. There are 8 multi-functional convention
halls of various sizes, which gives you all the flexibility and variety that
you may need while planning an event.
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If the local people don't charm you with their eccentric, fun-loving
personalities, they'll get you with their music and their food. Nowhere do
Italians eat more heartily, and nowhere do they love to dance as much.
Venture out into the countryside on a Saturday night and you're bound to
hear the strains of a polka or mazurka, played on a local invention: the
accordion. Until the nineteenth century, Emilia and Romagna were separate
Papal states. They were unified in 1946. Today, as one writer says, if you
want to know which region you're in, pull up to any house and ask for a
drink. If they give you water you're in Emilia; if it's wine you know you're
in Romagna. Parts of both belonged for centuries to Constantinople, which
left its Byzantine mark, notably on the magnificent basilicas of Ravenna.
Today the region is colored by its politics, which are as red as its ragů,
and just as uniquely Italian.
Farther south, sharing a common border with the miniscule republic of San
Marino, is the even less familiar region of the Marches. Here the flatlands
give way to vast green valleys ringed by snowy ridges. The slopes and
summits are dotted with quaint hilltowns, formidable castles and revered
shrines, many of which offer breathtaking views all the way to the shores of
the Adriatic. The Marches have no reason to envy their more famous
neighbors; if anything, they can boast of all the same glories, fewer
tourists, less crowded restaurants and much lighter traffic, all of which
add up to a host of good reasons to discover this little known part of
Italy.
Rimini
Rimini means above all fun, leisure and sandy beaches. Elegantly
positioned on the Adriatic coast in Emilia-Romagna Region, Rimini is a
popular tourist centre, visited by more than 4 million people each year.
Visitors are drawn to its fabulous white beaches, vibrant nightlife and
entertainment scene. Apart from being an excellent holiday destination,
Rimini offers a number of historic attractions, worth exploring. Among these
are the Augustinian Arch, Tiberius Bridge and the Tempio Malatestiano.
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Hotels Rimini -
Last Minute Hotels Rimini |
 Ramada Rimini Villa Rosa Hotel
The Hotel Ramada Rimini Villa Rosa is a four star hotel located on the Marina
Centro charming promenade, in front of the sea and only five minutes from the
old centre of Rimini. A privileged position for getting into the spirit of an
increasingly lively and convivial locality, and for enjoying all it has to offer
in every season: thousands of opportunities for entertainment and amusement,
while not forgetting the beauty of the surrounding countryside, rich in history
and enchanting corners that are worth discovering. It can be easily reached from
Rimini and Bologna airports, from the railways station, the highway A14 and the
expo centre. The Hotel Ramada Rimini Villa Rosa is a hotel with a modern and
functional structure that has been planned and designed so as to welcome its
guests in the best way possible.
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is located in Emilia Romagna, half-way between Milan and Bologna.
Although a relatively small city (170,000 inhabitants), Parma can boast some
truly monumental architecture, a rich artistic heritage and a range of
important cultural institutions.
Among the chief attractions of the town, the splendid Romanesque
Cathedral, frescoed by Correggio and the octagonal Baptistery, Benedetto
Antelami's architectural and sculptural masterpiece. Besides, Parma is
associated with influential figures such as Giuseppe Verdi and Arturo
Toscanini.
Parma is world famous as the capital food in the center of Italy, for its
high quality products and in particular for its Prosciutto of Parma and its
famous Parmesan Cheese.
PARMA HAM
Parma is the home of salamis. Parma has a saying: "The pig is like
Verdi's music, there's nothing to throw away." The cured ham of Parma,
Prosciutto, becomes sweeter than ham from any other region in Italy.
Culatello is another specialty of the area, which has a very special
quality, considered by some even finer than Prosciutto.
PARMESAN CHEESE
Parmesan is produced by more than 1,600 cheese factories spread over the
particular district, all very small and close together. Parmesan is an
exceptional cheese and absolutely natural. The milk is not pasteurized nor
treated with anti-fermentatives. The ageing ranges from 12 to 36 months and
allows no way for the process to be shortened: forced ventilation or
temperatures would ruin everything.
Grana padano is the twin brother of parmesan. They are similar but Grana
is slightly lighter in color than parmesan and it is softer and more humid
(less aged). Grana is produced in great quantities which is one great thing
to its credit because, if it didn't exist to meet all the demands of the
market, a sprinkle of parmesan on your pasta would cost more than a slice of
truffle!
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