Epicurean Emilia-Romagna Essential: From Bologna to Parma, gastronomy and traditions

Bologna is nicknamed the Learned, the Fat and the Red: home to the oldest university in the Western world, a gastronomic capital and a city of brick-coloured roofs. Its centre is a web of porticoes, over forty kilometres recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, leading to the leaning Two Towers, the city symbol, and to Piazza Maggiore with the Basilica of San Petronio. The university quarter pulses with life and bookshops, while the Quadrilatero offers food shops and markets. The cuisine is legendary: tagliatelle with ragù, tortellini, mortadella and lasagne. The portico of San Luca, the longest in the world, climbs to a panoramic sanctuary. Welcoming and lively, Bologna seduces with its art, its culture and its incomparable table.