Emilia derives from the via Aemilia, the Roman road connecting Piacenza to Rimini, completed in 187 BC, and named after the consul Marcus Aemilius Lepidus.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the Lombards, a Germanic tribe, founded the kingdom of Lombardy in northern and central Italy.

In the 12th century, the papacy extended its political influence and city states began to form in opposition to the Holy Roman emperors.

The northern cities, supported by the Pope, formed the Lombard League and reduced the influence of the ruling Hohenstaufen dynasty over their lands.

Local nobility like the Este of Ferrara, the Malatesta of Rimini, the Popes of Rome, the Farnese of Parma and Piacenza, and the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, jostled for power and influence.

The House of Este gained a notable profile for its political and military might and its patronage of the arts: it left behind a vast heritage of splendid Renaissance palaces, precious paintings and literary masterpieces, such as the works of Ludovico Ariosto, Torquato Tasso and Matteo Maria Boiardo.

After the First world war, Emilia-Romagna was at the centre of the so-called Biennio Rosso, a period of left-wing agitations that paved the way for Benito Mussolini's coup d'état in 1922 and the birth of the Fascist regime in Italy.

Mussolini, a native of Emilia-Romagna, sponsored the rise of many hierarchs coming from his same region, such as Italo Balbo, Dino Grandi and Edmondo Rossoni.

Almost entirely marshland in ancient times, its history is characterised by the hard work of its people to reclaim and reshape the land in order to achieve a better standard of living.

The geology varies, with lagoons and saline areas in the north and many thermal springs throughout the rest of the region as a result of groundwater rising towards the surface at different periods of history.

Human interactions such as agriculture, forestation and deforestation affect soil function, e.g. food and other biomass production, storing, filtering and transformation, habitat and gene pool.

The increased water runoff due to soil sealing requires adaptation measures for river and irrigation canals such as the building of retention basins, at a total cost estimated in the order of billions of euros.

This is probably due to the strength of the anti-fascist resistance around the time of World War II as well as a strong tradition of anti-clericalism dating from the 19th century, when part of the region belonged to the Papal States.

The region has nine cities with populations exceeding one hundred thousand: Bologna, Parma, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Ravenna, Rimini, Ferrara, Forlì and Piacenza.

[21] As of 2008[update], the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) estimated that 365,687 foreign-born immigrants lived in Emilia-Romagna, equal to 8.5% of the total regional population.

They are Romance languages spoken in the region, in Northern Marche and other nearby areas such as parts of Massa-Carrara, Mantua, Pavia and Rovigo provinces and in San Marino.

[citation needed] The agricultural sector has aimed for increased competitiveness by means of structural reorganisation and high-quality products, and this has led to the success of marketed brands.

Alongside cereals, which for centuries remained the first local product, the cultivation of fruit trees has developed (especially peaches, but also apricots, plums, apples and pears).

The food industry (e.g. Barilla, Parmalat, Granarolo, Zanetti, Grandi Salumifici Italiani, Cremonini, Fini, Conserve Italia) is particularly concentrated in Parma, Modena and Bologna.

Very important is production of Parma ham, Parmesan and Grana Padano cheeses, Modena balsamic vinegar, and Mortadella sausages.

Automotive industry produces sports cars (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Pagani), trucks (Astra), buses (Menarinibus) and motorcycles (Ducati, Bimota).

Emilia-Romagna has many small and picturesque villages, 16 of them have been selected by I Borghi più belli d'Italia (English: The most beautiful Villages of Italy),[27] a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,[28] that was founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.

Pier Paolo Pasolini, a native from Bologna, in addition to being a film director, was a poet, writer, and intellectual, who also distinguished himself as an actor, journalist, novelist, playwright, and political figure.

Although the Adriatic coast is a major fishing area which produces eels and clams, the region produces more meat products, especially pork-based, including Parma's prosciutto, culatello and Salame Felino, Piacenza's pancetta, coppa and salami, Bologna's mortadella and salame rosa, Modena's zampone, cotechino and cappello del prete and Ferrara's salama da sugo.

Reggio Emilia is the origin of the fresh egg-made pasta cappelletti (similar to Bologna's tortellini but differing in size), the typical Erbazzone Reggiano (Emilian spinach cheese pie) and Parmigiano Reggiano salted cake, and Gnocco Fritto, mixed flour stripes fried in boiling oil, eaten in combination with ham or salami.

Emilia-Romagna gave birth to one of the most important composers in the history of music, Giuseppe Verdi, as well as Arturo Toscanini, one of the most acclaimed conductors of the 20th century, and the operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

The region is well known in Italy for its rock and folk musicians, such as Laura Pausini, Raffaella Carrà, Samuele Bersani, Luciano Ligabue, Lucio Dalla, Francesco Guccini, Vasco Rossi and Zucchero.

Simoncelli died in an accident when he was run over on track in the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix at the age of 24, and was honoured by having the Misano World Circuit named after him.

Imola was a happy hunting ground for Emilia-Romagna team Scuderia Ferrari during the era on the re-built track, with Michael Schumacher winning the race five times in front of the home crowd.

The region has a very strong tradition in volleyball as well, with three clubs that are among the oldest, most winning and prestigious teams in Italy and Europe: Parma, Modena and Porto Ravenna.