Autonomous region (pop., 2001 prelim.: 3,960,549), northern Italy.
It covers an area of 8,542 sq mi (22,123 sq km); its chief city and capital is Bologna . Located on the Adriatic Sea, Emilia-Romagna includes the Po River to the north and the Apennines to the west and south. It takes its name from the Roman Aemilian Way, built 0441; 187 BC. The region formerly comprised the duchies of Parma and Modena and papal Romagna. Emilia-Romagna became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861; the present political region was created in 1948. The fertile Emilian Plain in the north makes Emilia-Romagna one of the leading agricultural regions of Italy. It has a large food-processing industry, and livestock and dairy farming are extensive.