Agricultural wealth and advanced industries
The fertile lands of the Po plain are suitable for growing cereals (wheat and corn), vegetables, fruit trees and vines. The region grows many excellent products with a designation of origin: cherries from Vignola, pears and peaches from Emilia-Romagna, garlic from Voghiera, green asparagus from Altedo... It is also the leading Italian sugar beet producing region. The Lambrusco, Sangiovese, Albana and Trebbiano grapes are used to make quality wines, although they are less well known than their Tuscan or Venetian neighbours. Cattle and pig breeding is also highly developed here.
As for industry, all sectors are represented, led by a mechanical engineering industry whose reputation has long since spread beyond the country's borders: car and motorcycle manufacturers, body builders and tuners are established in the provinces of Modena, Reggio Emilia and Bologna, with Ducati, Ferrari, Italjet, Moto Morini, Maserati, Lamborghini, etc., as well as in the provinces of Bologna, Bologna and Bologna. Other sectors represented in the region: the food industry in Parma with Barilla and Parmalat, textiles in Carpi, ceramics in Faenza and Sassuolo, the chemical industry in Ravenna, the biomedical industry in Mirandola, etc.A discreet but dynamic tourism
Tourism plays an important role in the regional economy and it is the Romagna Riviera that attracts the majority of travellers: the Adriatic coast is visited every year by about 10 million holidaymakers, mostly Italians, Germans and Dutch. The cities attract art lovers, most of them foreigners, while the quality of Emilia Romagna's cuisine and products make it an increasingly popular destination for wine and food tourism.
All the way to the left!
In the Italian political landscape, Emilia-Romagna is asserting itself as a historically very left-wing region. Since 1970, the regional presidents who have succeeded one another at the head of Emilia-Romagna have all come from left-wing parties, starting with the Communist Party from 1970 to 1990.
The current president is Stefano Bonaccini, from the Democratic Party (PD), a left-wing party. In office since 2014, he was re-elected in the regional elections held on 26 January 2020. The elections were closely followed by the entire peninsula: his main opponent was Lucia Borgonzoni, a member of the Lega, a right-wing party that is gaining ground throughout Italy. A Lega victory in Emilia-Romagna would not only have marked a historic change of political orientation for the region, but could have destabilised or even brought down the centre-left Italian national government, already weakened against a conquering right. So Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Lega, embarked on a vast seduction operation to dissolve the historical attachment of the Emilians and Romagna to the left. There were many apparitions, while in the cities there were spontaneous anti-Lega demonstrations, especially those of the "sardine movement". Finally, Emilia-Romagna chose to remain true to its political colour with 51.24% of the votes in favour of Stefano Bonaccini against 43.63% for Lucia Borgonzoni.
