Buying property in Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna is the heartland of northern Italy, one of the country’s largest, most populous and most affluent regions, and it has a lot to recommend if you’re looking to buy real estate in Italy. With more than its share of interesting (and very ancient) cities, beautiful and varied countryside and good beaches, it has something whatever type of Italian property you’re looking to buy. And as a bonus, it has (arguably) the best food in Italy … no mean boast.

Those buying a home in Emilia-Romagna have a diversity of countryside and towns to choose from. Once the region was all forest: over two millennia of farming and development have taken care of that, but marvellous pockets of pine forest still remain around Ravenna and Cervia. The flat plains around the Po Delta in the north give way to the foothills of the Apennine Mountains in the south. And bisecting the region, from Piacenza in the north-west to the seaside resort of Rimini on the south-east, is the ancient Via Emilia. This Roman military road, built in 187BC, was to later form part of the pilgrim’s road to Rome. Along it lie the towns of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Forli and finally Rimini.

Buy real estate in Bologna

The capital of Emilia-Romagna is Bologna. Alternatively known as ‘Red Bologna’ as the centre of the political Left in Italy, or as ‘La Grassa’ (The Fat) because of its superb cuisine, Bologna has a beautifully preserved medieval city centre. Compared to Rome or Florence, the city seems bizarrely empty of tourists though. But you can buy a property in one of Italy’s largest cities at a fraction of the price of better-trod Italian towns.

This is a lovely city. It has possibly the world’s best food market; it has superb buildings and architecture including the Neptune Fountain and the Church of San Petronio, all situated around the linked central squares of Piazza Maggiore and Piazza del Nettuno; it has big city buzz with a thriving university and intellectual life; it has great galleries and museums; it has terrific bars and cafes and a successful football team. Buy a home in Bologna and you’ll find yourself becoming a Romagnolo before you know it.

Buying real estate in Emilia-Romagna? What to eat

And Emilia famously has Italy’s best food. That may seem a big boast in this most culinary of countries, but a visit to the food market of Bologna or any restaurant in Parma will confirm it. Anyone buying a home in Emilia will be delighted at the cuisine — Parma ham, balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese are indigenous delicacies; the medieval village of Brisighella has an unmissable autumn festival dedicated to olives, polenta and the truffle. Pasta is done beautifully here, tortellini stuffed with spinach, ricotta, pumpkin and pork. Meat is more prevalent than in much of Italy, though fish features large too. And there are good wines, including the unfairly mocked Lambrusco.

Buying real estate in Emilia-Romagna? Know the history

The quantity of major towns is a direct result of Emilia-Romagna’s history. This region once comprised the Papal States, but for centuries before it was divided among competing dukedoms, little city states really, and each with a city at its centre. These Renaissance courts were patrons of the arts — mini versions of the Medici in Florence — and they created elegant castles and fortresses, while the rich farmland of Emilia created affluent little medieval towns and villages. Preserved and restored, they are relatively neglected, with the tourists heading instead for Tuscany and Umbria. The intense heat of the Emilia-Romagna summer puts many off, but there are hidden gems here. Buy a home in the Emilia countryside and you’ll spend a lifetime discovering them.

The cities have treasures too. There are the marvellous mosaics of Ravenna; the Duomo in Modena is one of Italy’s finest Romanesque buildings, beautifully decorated; and journey into the north of the region to see the extraordinarily dramatic castle of Rocca Viscontea.

Where to buy property in Emilia-Romagna … and how much you'll pay

Recent properties on the market include a horse-breeding farm with small holding in the foothills of the Apennines. With 17 hectares of land, this beautifully located four-bedroom farm is tucked in the south-western corner of Emilia-Romagna, bordering Tuscany and Liguria and very close to the Mediterranean coast. On the market for €350,000. Outside Bologna, a stone-built farmhouse in 90 acres of land with stables and hayloft (plus other outbuildings ripe into conversion to accommodation, and planning permission for a swimming pool) would cost around €285,000. This is an idyllic holiday or permanent home in the country just outside one of Europe’s loveliest (yet least touristy) cities, and only 30 minutes from Bologna Airport.

And this is an area where that favourite of UK and American property buyers — the ‘traditional farmhouse in need of complete renovation’ — can still be found. Tuscany may be gentrified out, but how about a buying a farmhouse in Carniana, close to Emilia-Romagna’s National Park … yours for €40,000, with smallholding and orchard included. Or maybe a two-bedroom stone house in the mediaeval Apennine village of Sologno — you could buy this Emilia real estate for €45,000.

Emilia Romagna hotels

A great site for booking your hotel in Emilia Romagna - and you are bound to spending some nights in hotels as you house-hunt - is ahotelinitaly.com. The site offers instant reservation, and these links will take you straight to the relevant sections:

Bologna hotels / Ferrara hotels / Parma hotels / Ravenna hotels / Riccione hotels / Rimini hotels

Property in Emilia-Romagna — airports and communications

Emilia-Romagna has excellent communications, perfect for anyone buying property here. There are airports at Bologna, Forli and Rimini, and the region’s central-northern position places it as a hub in the Italian motorway system: motorways run direct from Bologna to Rome and the south, and Milan and the north.