Emilia-Romagna

enUK

Emilia-Romagna

(āmē`lyä-rōmä`nyä), region (1991 pop. 3,909,512), 8,542 sq mi (22,124 sq km), N central Italy, bordering on the Adriatic Sea in the east. BolognaBologna
, city (1991 pop. 404,378), capital of Emilia-Romagna and of Bologna prov., N central Italy, at the foot of the Apennines and on the Aemilian Way. It is a prosperous commercial and industrial center and an important transportation link between S and N Italy.
..... Click the link for more information. is the capital of the region, which is divided into eight provinces named for their capitals. Bologna, Ferrera, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, and Reggio nell' Emilia provs. are in Emilia, and Forlì and Ravenna provs. are in Romagna. The region falls into two geographic zones, a fertile, low-lying plain in the north and east, which is watered by the Po, Secchia, Panaro, and Reno rivers, and the Apennine Mts. in the south and west.

The region is economically prosperous, with agriculture as the chief occupation. Farming is particularly productive in the irrigated Po valley and in the reclaimed land along the Adriatic coast. Cereals, rice, vegetables, sugar beets, and dairy goods (including Parmesan and Grana Padano cheese) are the chief farm products. Emilia-Romagna also has extensive industry, aided by the production of considerable hydroelectric power and by a good transportation network. Manufactures include processed food, motor vehicles, farm machinery, electrical equipment, refined petroleum, and chemicals. There are deposits of petroleum (near Piacenza) and natural gas (near Piacenza and Ravenna). Fishing is pursued along the coast, which also has a number of popular beach resorts (including Marina di Romeo and Rimini). There are universities at Bologna, Ferrara, Modena, and Parma.

Emilia takes its name from the Aemilian Way, a Roman road (laid out 187 B.C.) that crossed the region from Piacenza to Rimini. After the fall of Rome, the region was conquered (5th cent. A.D.) by the LombardsLombards
, ancient Germanic people. By the 1st cent. A.D. the Lombards were settled along the lower Elbe. After obscure migrations they were allowed (547) by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I to settle in Pannonia and Noricum (modern Hungary and E Austria).
..... Click the link for more information. . Bologna and most of present-day RomagnaRomagna
, historic region, N central Italy, bordering on the Adriatic Sea in the east, now included in the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Marche, and Tuscany. Although its boundaries varied at different times, the Romagna is now understood to occupy Forlì and Ravenna provs.
..... Click the link for more information. fell under Byzantine rule in the 6th cent. and from then to the 19th cent. had histories separate from Emilia. Divided into several duchies and counties, Emilia was conquered by the Franks in the 8th cent. Its subsequent history is that of its individual cities, many of which became free communes in the 12th cent.

By the 17th cent. the duchy of Parma and Piacenza, under the FarneseFarnese
, Italian noble family that ruled Parma and Piacenza from 1545 to 1731. In the 12th cent. the Farnese held several fiefs in Latium. They became one of the most prominent families in Rome and were Guelph supporters of the papacy.
..... Click the link for more information. family, and the duchy of Modena, under the house of EsteEste
, Italian noble family, rulers of Ferrara (1240–1597) and of Modena (1288–1796) and celebrated patrons of the arts during the Renaissance. Probably of Lombard origin, they took their name from the castle of Este, near Padua.
..... Click the link for more information. , together held virtually all of Emilia. Emilia was held by the French from 1797 to 1814, when Modena passed to Austria and Parma and Piacenza came under Marie LouiseMarie Louise,
1791–1847, empress of the French (1810–15) as consort of Napoleon I and duchess of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla (1816–47), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (later Emperor of Austria as Francis I.
..... Click the link for more information. , the wife of deposed Napoleon I. Emilia played an important role in the RisorgimentoRisorgimento
[Ital.,=resurgence], in 19th-century Italian history, period of cultural nationalism and of political activism, leading to unification of Italy. Roots of the Risorgimento
..... Click the link for more information. , and there were revolts against foreign rule in 1821, 1831, and 1848–49. In 1860 all of Emilia-Romagna was joined to the kingdom of Sardinia, which in 1861 became the kingdom of Italy. In the 20th cent. Emilia (especially Bologna) was a center of socialism and Communism.

Emilia-Romagna

a region in northern Italy, lying between the right bank of the Po River and the Adriatic Sea. Emilia-Romagna includes the provinces of Bologna, Ferrara, Forli, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Ravenna, and Reggio nell’Emilia, covering an area of 22,100 sq km. Population, 3.9 million (1975). The region’s major city is Bologna.

Emilia-Romagna occupies the southern Po Plain and, in the south, the northern slopes of the Etruscan and Ligurian Apennines. It contains rivers of the Po River system and a dense network of canals.

Emilia-Romagna is one of Italy’s most economically developed regions. Industry employs 41.8 percent of the economically active population (1.6 million in 1975), and agriculture employs 16.4 percent. The main branch of industry is machine building, notably the manufacture of equipment for the food-processing industry and light industry and the production of agricultural machinery, tractors, machine tools, instruments, and radio-engineering equipment. The chemical, rubber, ceramics, glass, knitwear, garment, and food-processing industries are also important. Natural gas and petroleum are extracted offshore. Electric power production was 14.6 billion kilowatt-hours in 1974.

Agriculture in Emilia-Romagna is highly intensive. Grain crops account for approximately one-half of the region’s cultivated land, while forage crops account for 7 percent and orchards for 9 percent. Other crops include beets (more than one-third of the country’s harvest) and vegetables and fruit (more than one-fourth of the country’s apple and peach harvest and two-thirds of its pear harvest). A major wine-growing region, Emilia-Romagna produced 11 million hectoliters of wine in 1975, more than any other region of Italy. Livestock raising is also an important sector in the region’s agriculture; in 1975 there were 1.1 million head of cattle, 2.2 million head of swine, and 100,000 head of sheep.

T. A. GALKINA

Emilia-Romagna

a region of N central Italy, on the Adriatic: rises from the plains of the Po valley in the north to the Apennines in the south. Capital: Bologna. Pop.: 4 030 220 (2003 est.). Area: 22 123 sq. km (8628 sq. miles)

Emilia-Romagna

E·mi·lia-Ro·ma·gna

Emilia-Romagna

E•mi•lia-Ro•ma•gna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Words related to Emilia-Romagna

noun a region of north central Italy on the Adriatic

Related Words