Italy

Smart and well-to-do, Reggio Emilia is a perfectly pleasant place - it's wealthy, and evidently so, it's got a handsome historic centre and great restaurants - but there's not really a whole lot to do. Once you've explored the central piazzas and sniffed around the markets, you've pretty much covered the sights. It does, however, make a practical base for exploring the Apennines to the south.

Known also as Reggio nell'Emilia, the town started life in the 2nd century BC as a Roman colony along the Via Emilia. Much of Reggio was built by the Este family during the 400 years it controlled the town, beginning in 1406.

Reggio's pedestrianised centro storico (historic city centre) is an attractive place to wander with the main sights centred on Piazza Camillo Prampolini and adjacent Piazza San Prospero.

Before the 20th century

Like much of Italy, Reggio Emilia has a mixed history of tyranny and cooperation. Prior to the Roman colonisation of 193 BC, the site was inhabited by Ligurians, Celts, Etruscans and Gauls. The Romans, who drained and settled surrounding land, helped the town to flourish. The Romans, belligerently announcing the empire's arrival, established Reggio as part of the Via Aemilia road network, ferrying goods through from southern and northern cities.

As the empire crumbled at the end of the 5th century, Reggio Emilia had already decayed - a century before, St Ambrose had included it on his list of declining cities. Its remnants were sacked by the Barbarian invasions, and the Ostrogoth kingdom replaced the Romans. A quick succession of changes followed in the 6th century, Reggio belonging first to the Exarchate of Ravenna and then to the Lombards, as coastal and hinterland kingdoms battled for territory.

By the end of the 9th century, Reggio was controlled by the generically named Kingdom of Italy (approximately two-thirds the size of the Italian nation we now know). The Hungarian Magyars damaged the city in this period, thereby urging the erection of city walls. Circa 900, after this urban fortification, a castle was built in the centre of the city. A century later, the city peacefully merged with the mark of Tuscany. When cracks in the system of feudalism became apparent, Reggio Emilia was quick to prise them open: it was one of the first free communes. While this brought some peace, the town was later embroiled in the nation-wide battle between Guelphs (pro-papacy) and Ghibellines (pro-empire), stoushing with nearby Modena and Parma.

The city was tossed from kingdom to republic and back again during the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. By the 15th century, the Este Family, one of Europe's great aristocratic dynasties, was ruling the city. They, in their successive guises, imposed an unbending order on the city and its surrounds. Local governors, including writers Matteo Maria Boiardo and Francesco Guicciardini, were charged with ensuring all bandits in the countryside were killed. This Este rule lasted until the 18th cenutry, their last two centuries of rule marked by wars, plagues and plunder, but also sumptuous construction works.

After living under the tyrannical and fickle rule of the Este Family, the Reggiani welcomed the French Revolution and the subsequent arrival of First Republic troops in 1796. Soon after, locals fought off an advancing Austrian column and were rewarded by Napoleon with armaments. He proclaimed a republic in the region (Cispadane Republic). Although short-lived - it merged months later with the Transpadane Republic - this republic is considered to be vital in the modern unification of Italy and is the undisputed home of the national flag. The city passed back into the hands of the Este Family by 1815. By 1860 the city returned to the Kingdom of Italy and its dictatorial leader, Luigi Carlo Farini.

Modern history

By the first decade of the 20th century, Reggio Emilia was home to around 70,000 people. With its historically strong anti-monarchical and anti-establishment leanings, a socialist tradition was evident in the city. This became readily apparent when, after its emergence in 1923, Mussolini's fascist regime oppressed the Reggiani because of these leanings and traditions. The Reggiani, again, didn't passively accept its tyrannical leader: 20 years of resistance led up to a fight for liberation. When the regime fell in 1943, the city - like much of the country - rejoiced. It's people were eventually awarded a gold medal for military valour, recognising the ongoing fight against the fascist state and Axis powers in World War II.

A revolutionary educational system emerged from Reggio Emilia after WWII ravaged the city's population and landscape. Reflecting the city's democratic and socialist leanings, groups of parents, teachers and children sketched a plan for the reconstruction of society through the education of children. Bouyed by hope, the system attempted to forge a better society through the previously ignored naivety, innocence and intuitive intelligence of children. The resulting approach, which came to be named after the city, is used throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. The city has gained fame through the increasing popularity of this educational programme.

Recent history

Reggio Emilia is today a prosperous and tourist-friendly city nestled on a fertile plain between the Enza and Secchia rivers. Bestowed by the Romans as a central trading route, the economy of the city is still largely based on its position as a junction for roadways and railway; the ancient Via Aemilia still wends through the city's heart. The industrial sector remains concentrated on the traditional activities of the surrounding agricultural business. These most famously include wine, canning and the dairy factories which produce Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) cheese.

Top Accommodation

Top Restaurants

Reggio Emilia has a continental climate with cold winters and hot summers. Situated near the Apennines, temperatures plummet to freezing point overnight around December and January, while barely stretching to double-figures during the day. By July and August, the daytime temperature regularly reaches over 30°C (86°F), while nights are mild. Autumn and spring are the wettest times, often doubling the amount of rain falling in winter and summer months.

Average weather

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Transport

Getting there and away

The train station (Piazzale Marconi 1) is east of the city and serves all stops on the Milan-Bologna line. Trains to Milan (1.5hr), Parma (15min), Modena (15min) and Bologna (45min) run regularly. The city is on the historic Via Emilia (S9) and also the A1 autostrade. The S63 takes you across the Parma Apennines to La Spezia on the Ligurian coast. Buses run from the city (Viale A Allegri) to Carpi (1hr, 10 daily) and Castelnovo ne' Monti (1.25hr, at least 12 daily).

Getting around

Bus operator ACT serves the city from the bus station in Viale A Allegri. Taxis (0522 45 25 45) are available . The Commune di Reggio Emilia (Farini, 1/A) has a number of suggested bicycle and walking routes.