Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy with a total area of 20,124 km², comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The name Emilia-Romagna has roots in the Ancient Rome legacy. Emilia refers to via Æmilia, an important Roman way connecting the two important cities of Rimini and Piacenza. Romagna is a corruption of Romània; when Ravenna was the capital of the Italian portion of the Byzantine Empire, the Lombards extended the official name of the Empire to the lands around Ravenna.
Its capital, Bologna (375.000 inhabitants), is one of Italy's cities with the highest quality of life and also a major cultural and touristic centre, being the home of the oldest university in the Western World.
Emilia-Romagna's main features
- One of the richest and most developed regions in Europe
- Third highest by GDP per capita in Italy
- Very well balanced economy
- Biggest agricultural sector in Italy
- Secular tradition in automobile, motor and mechanic productions
- Most regional industry is located along the Via Emilia
- Food industry (e.g. Barilla Group)
- Mechanical/auto industry in Parma, Modena and Bologna (e.g. Ferrari, Ducati, Lamborghini, Maserati, Pagani)
- Ceramic sector (Faenza and Sassuolo)
- Tourism (Adriatic coastline and cities of art)
- Export-oriented region: Mechanical engineering (53%); Extraction of non-metallic minerals (13%); Clothing industry (10%).
Regional specialties
In Emilia-Romagna the honor roll of foods is led by pasta, made with fresh eggs and rolled by hand by a sfoglina to achieve perfect texture. The universal primo is tagliatelle con ragù, though cooks consider the meat sauce personal works of art. Bologna, whose specialties include green lasagne and curly gramigna, disputes with Modena the creation of tortellini (modeled after Venus's navel). Parma's prides are large square envelopes called tortelli and the rounded anolini, which are also made in Piacenza, home of the bean-shaped pisarei. Ferrara's cappellacci (big hats) are stuffed with squash. Reggio's cappelletti (little hats) differ from pasta of the same name in Romagna, whose specialties include the rolled tubes called garganelli and slim dumplings called passatelli. Pasticcio is pasta with other ingredients baked in a pie, though interpretations vary.
Baked nearly everywhere are hard wheat rolls of snow white interior and tawny crust called coppiette, due to their shape resembling a "coupled" set of horns. Local versions of flatbreads abound. Most renowned is Romagna's circular piadina or piada, baked on tiles (or griddles) and folded over prosciutto, cheese or greens. Thicker focaccia is called spianata or torta salata, though with salt pork in the dough it becomes crescentina at Bologna. In Emilia's hills, paper thin borlengo or burleng is cooked like a crêpe, dressed with salt pork, garlic and rosemary, folded into quarters and served with grated Parmigiano. Similar flavorings are used on the muffin-like tigelle, baked between tile disks.
In Emilia, the curing of pork is an age-old master craft. Prosciutto di Parma, Italy's best known meat product, is protected by DOP, as is the rare but even more prized Culatello di Zibello, a filet of rump aged in the foggy lowlands along the Po. Bologna is noted for giant loaves called Mortadella, though the IGP extends through the region and beyond. Modena pig's foot sausage zampone is eaten nationwide at the New Year with lentils for luck. DOP protects Zampone di Modena and Prosciutto di Modena, while IGP applies to Cotechino di Modena, a sausage whose stuffing includes bits of rind.
Emilia's Parmigiano Reggiano, the "king of cheeses," is firm yet brittle enough to break into bite-sized chunks of elegantly mellow flavor. Aging makes Parmigiano golden and hard for grating. Romagna's formaggio di fossa from the milk of sheep or cows is ripened in caves for three months. Ravaggiolo and squacquerone are tangy cream cheeses used mainly in cooking.
Aceto balsamico tradizionale is aged at least 12 years in barrels of different types of wood to become dark, dense and almost too divine to be called vinegar. The traditional type is protected by a DOP in Modena and Reggio, but imitations abound. The tradizionale is a unique condiment for meat, fish, and vegetables or the prime ingredient in sauces. Vinegars of 20 years old or more may be sipped from a teaspoon as a cordial or digestive.
Emilia-Romagna boasts 18 DOC wines. In Emilia, where most wines are bubbly, the perfect foil for luxury fare is vivacious red Lambrusco, dry, however, not sweet. In Romagna, hearty red Sangiovese goes with meats and cheeses and the dry white Trebbiano is preferred with fish. The region's lone DOCG is the white Albana di Romagna, historically sweet but today mainly dry. Emilia's preferred digestivo is nocino, a liqueur made of green walnuts steeped in distilled spirits.
