Northern Italy: Emilia-Romagna

Bradt's new Emilia-Romagna is the most thorough and in-depth guide available to this entire north Italian region (not just Bologna and the main cities) with a strong focus on history, background information, art and culture, as well as extensive detail on the Apennines along the Tuscan border, where you can escape the flatlands of the Po and go trekking, cycling and skiing. Here are some of region's prettiest villages, including Vignola, famous for cherries and lovely medieval Castell'Arquato and Brisighella. To the east, the Romagna part of this hyphenated region boasts long sandy Adriatic beaches, wildlife-filled lagoons around the Po Delta, and the world's smallest republic, San Marino. Written by expert authors Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls, possibly the world's most experienced travel writers on Italy, Bradt's Emilia-Romagna is the definitive guide to this diverse and authentic area. Bologna, the regional capital, is covered in detail, from accommodation and restaurants to galleries, museums, shopping and the new FICO Eataly food theme park. Emilia-Romagna combines the rich farmlands of the Po plain with dazzling cities strung like pearls along the straight-as-a-die Via Emilia. The capital, Bologna, home to the world's oldest university, and the smaller cities of Parma, Modena, Ferrara, Piacenza, Ravenna and Rimini are year-round destinations, each strikingly different, each filled with art and architectural masterpieces and fascinating museums housing everything from Etruscan vases to still life by Giorgio Morandi. Ravenna glitters with Byzantine mosaics; Parma, the town of Correggio, is mad about opera; Modena, with its stupendous medieval cathedral, is the hometown of Pavarotti and Ferrari; Ferrara has delightful early Renaissance frescoes; Rimini was immortalised by Fellini in Amarcord. With Bradt's Emilia-Romagna you can discover all of this and more. With 22 town and area maps, plus language, art and architecture glossaries, full practical information and all the background context you could need, Bradt's Emilia-Romagna is the perfect companion for art lovers, food lovers, families taking a beach holiday and city-break enthusiasts of all ages.