The porticoes that provide shelter and shade as you make your way through the streets of the historic centre of Bologna ... the never-ending, multi-coloured sea of umbrellas on the sunny, lively beaches of Romagna.
The up-to-the-minute, dynamic and wealthy city, which at the same time is still capable of preserving its "human face" ... and the long, long coastline, crowded with tourists drawn by the irresistible trinity of sun, sea and fun.
Is this Emilia-Romagna? Yes, but there is more besides. One of the richest regions of Italy, Emilia-Romagna is a gigantic treasure trove filled with jewels of every kind.
Home to the most ancient Italian university (eleventh century), Bologna is famed for its two spectacular towers, the Asinelli and the Garisenda, both leaning, Piazza Maggiore, with its great medieval buildings, and the gothic Duomo of St. Petronio.
In addition to Bologna, visitors should not miss the Byzantine masterpieces of Ravenna, the medieval Baptistery by Benedetto Antelami in Parma, the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini, the Romanesque church of St. Mercuriale in Forlì, the ancient Palazzo Comunale in Piacenza, the seventeenth-century Sanctuary of the Madonna della Ghiara in Reggio Emilia, the splendid Galleria Estense in Modena or the graceful and well-preserved historic centre of Ferrara...