Why Emilia-Romagna?

Emilia-Romagna is a varied and vibrant region and a firm favourite amongst Italians and other European holiday makers for years.

Here you will find a variety of landscapes second to none.

The North, which borders with Lombardia and Veneto, is characterized by the flat and fertile land of the Pó valleys (the longest river in Italy).

The East is famous for the beautiful hill towns and beaches of Romagna , including Faenza (the regional capital for pottery and ceramic), the independent nation of San Marino (the smallest in the world) and the busy and lively beach resorts along the Adriatic coast like Rimini, Cesenatico and Riccione to name but a few.

The South, close to the Tuscan border, is very green and here is where you find the Apennine Mountains.

Why Appennino?

The Appennino Tosco-Emiliano region is a wonderful part of Italy. The Emilian side, with its rolling mountains and pretty villages scattered around the hilltops, offers a landscape just as beautiful as its illustrious neighbours. Rustic farmhouses can be found at very affordable prices.

In the villages you will find bars, restaurants, banks, doctors, sports centres, open air swimming pools, horse riding facilities, weekly markets selling farmers' produce, art & craft, antiques and of course, stylish Italian fashion and shoes. Usually the villages tend to be busier in the summer and other holiday seasons.

We have a strong foothold on the Appennino Bolognese and Modenese and these are the areas that we would like you to consider for your next place in the sun.

These are prosperous areas with farming, small and medium industry and craft production being the main income generators.

With Bologna and Modena regularly coming up top amongst Italian cities for income levels and liveability and Bologna recently crowned ‘most liveable' city for 2004, it is no wonder that rich Italians have enjoyed holidays in this area for years and own beautiful second homes here.

The main centres and holiday resorts of the Appennino Bolognese are:

Castel D'Aiano – the highest in altitude in the whole province at 800m above sea level, is renowned for its perfectly clean air and lusciously green chestnuts woodland.

Porretta Terme – a spa town since Roman times, its top of the range spa centre is great for all your health and beauty treatments and its internationally attended Blues Festival is on every summer. Porretta is only a short distance from the Tuscan border, with Pistoia being on the other side, and it is also the main train station for the area.

The main centres of the Appennino Modenese are:

Montese – is famous for its fortified tower and for the religious festival of the Madonna Della Neve, which takes place on the first Sunday of August.

Sestola – a well-known holiday resort, is the closest to Mount Cimone, which is the highest in the region at 2,807m and offers excellent skiing facilities in the winter months. For this reason, in Sestola you will find plenty of bars, restaurants and fashionable shops but on the other hand, this tends to be the most expensive area to buy in because of the high rental potential of any given property.

Notably, the Italian skier Alberto Tomba, twice slalom world champion, is from Sestola.

Wherever you decide to buy, you will enjoy outstanding, panoramic views , friendly hospitality, history, culture, sunshine, delicious food and wine , scrumptious ice-creams, markets, fiestas and village square celebrations all year round.

Best of all, this part of Italy represent good value for money and there are many property bargains to be had.

Emilia Romagna

Covers an area of 22,000 sq. km and it has a population of just under 4 million. The region is very rich in historical character and contains major cities such as Bologna (approx. 1 to 1 ½ hours drive away) , where the oldest university in the world is to be found or Parma, famed as the home of Verdi and Toscanini. Bordered by the Mediterranean Sea on one side the area contains settled and industrial plains (mostly producing ceramic products), farmland, producing a wide variety of crops and the wild mountainous areas of the Apennine mountains, famed for their skiing, trekking, spectacular scenery and a magnet for tourists. The associations area of expertise and where most of our properties are to be found is centred in and around the Apennine region, mostly within the ‘Parco Giganti’ (the National Park of the Giant), an area of outstanding natural beauty and renowned internationally for its wealth and diversity of flora and fauna and superb skiing facilities (within a ½ hours drive there is a choice of around 6 first-class ski resorts. In this area, the seasons and the temperature follow a clearly defined pattern. In the height of the summer months the temperature will rise to 30 – 32 degrees C. However, because this is a mountainous region, the temperature does not get oppressive and humid, remaining instead wonderfully hot and comfortable. In the winter it can drop to below freezing, though not for long, with 3 maybe 4 heavy snow falls. These ‘storms’ usually last for 1-2 days and will deposit snow drifts of up to 3mts.

Food and Drink

Known as the 'Food Kitchen' of the North (it is also widely recognised and called ‘The Garden of Italy’), Emilia-Romagna is without doubt the region where Italy's best food is produced. The local specialities, famous throughout the world, include Parmesan cheese, Parma ham, Lasagne, Balsamic Vinegar and Tortellini stuffed with meat, vegetables and herbs.

Lambrusco is the most renowned wine produced from the local vineyards. It is common in the autumn to pick wild Porcini mushrooms, and blueberries found in the foothills of the mountains and there are many outlets for locally grown natural produce. The area has a multitude of amazing restaurants and trattorias where you can be sure of eating very well for very little money.

Tourist Attractions in the area.

Landscape & National Parks

The National and Regional parks represent the "green heart" of Emilia Romagna and testify to the importance attributed to the protection and promotion of the natural beauty and landscapes of the region. The Casentinesi Woods, the Gigante Regional Park, the Park of the Corno alle Scale and the Delta of the River Po are the principal green oasis to be explored horse-riding, walking or skiing. The region offers all the peace and tranquillity one could desire.

Recreation in Emilia Romagna

The region boasts sixteen premier Italian golf courses, canoeing, hot water spas and a world renowned observatory at Febbio and of course, not forgetting the wonderful hot sandy beaches along either the Adriatic or the Mediterranean Coast.

History & Culture

Unified in 1946, the regions of Emilia and Romagna joined together to form one of Italy's wealthiest regions in art, history and culture. The region's most notable cities are Bologna, Parma, Piacenza, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Rimini, Ravenna, Ferrara and the smaller town of Busseto. Each of them has something special to offer. The cultural center of the region is Bologna, hometown of the oldest university in Europe, a visit to Bologna will entice one to explore the ornate churches, medieval piazzas, immense towers and porticos that elegantly shelter and shade one's way through the streets of this historic city. The region is renowned for beautiful Byzantine mosaics and historic paintings.

The Apennines and surrounding Area

The irregular Apennine peaks mark the border between Emilia and Tuscany and in the middle of these peaks sits the Bismantova, a magnificent sandstone plateau. Its structure, awesome and mysterious, is a breathtaking symbol of the whole region. Here you will find an environment completely unpolluted. Around you are Beech and Chestnut woods, trees which have been there for hundreds of years, wild fruit is everywhere to be picked: blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and even Porcini mushrooms, while overhead the blue sky promises another wonderful day.

Sports Activities

Throughout the year the Apennines are ideal for sports activities, walking trails, gastronomic excursions hunting for chestnuts or mushrooms; in winter the white mountains and the ski resorts are very popular and have contributed to the success of ski champions such as Alberto Tomba. Emilia-Romagna also offers a wide variety of opportunities for cyclists. Every year a growing number of cyclists from all Europe decide to visit Emilia-Romagna, where they can experience the joy of cycling in the valleys and the hills or along the ridge of the Apennines. The area is also a favourite with mountaineers and rock climbers, especially the Pietra di Bismantova (Bismantova Stone). For the less active sports enthusiasts Emilia Romagna is the Centre of the Sports Car and Motorcycle world. With the likes of Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and Ducati (home to one of the finest motorbike producers in the world), all having their museums and factory's in this region (all of which can be visited, making for a wonderful day out) there really is no better place to visit for the motor sports enthusiast.

Towns & Villages

Emilia Romagna boasts some of the most beautiful towns in Italy overflowing with Byzantine art, architecture and historical character. Naturally, Italy would not be Italy unless there were festivals! with any excuse to relax in wonderful surroundings and indulge yourself in the local food, wine, colour and pageantry. Throughout the long hot summer days and evenings, the tranquil landscape is enlivened by small villages with their traditional popular customs celebrating their heritage with either a grand festival or an open-air feast, where anyone and everybody is freely welcomed. Generally, during the summer months, there is either a festival, fair or celebration taking place in the area somewhere locally every day of the week.

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