Emilia Romagna historical timeline

Chronology

1. 1088 — The University of Bologna is founded, and is the oldest university in continuous operation anywhere. Its presence is why Bologna has been a student city for nine centuries and still feels like one.
2. 16th century — The Papal States seize most of what becomes Emilia-Romagna, though Parma, Piacenza and Modena stay independent. Those three keep their own ducal courts, which is why their historic centres look nothing like papal Bologna.
3. 1797 — The Cispadane Republic adopts the first Italian tricolour flown by a sovereign Italian state. The flag was invented here, in Reggio Emilia.
4. 1859–1861 — The independent duchies and the papal territories are absorbed into the Kingdom of Italy.
5. 1876–1976 — About 1.2 million people emigrate from Emilia-Romagna over the century.
6. Post-1945 — Emilia-Romagna becomes and remains a left-wing stronghold, led since 2007 by the Democratic Party. The co-operative economy that reputation rests on is visible in the region's food brands and its housing.
7. 2009 — Following a 2006 referendum, seven Montefeltro municipalities — Casteldelci, Maiolo, Novafeltria, Pennabilli, San Leo, Sant'Agata Feltria and Talamello — leave the Marche for the province of Rimini on 15 August. It is the most recent change to the region's borders.
8. 1980 — A far-right terrorist group bombs Bologna's main railway station, killing 85 people and wounding more than 200. The station clock is still stopped at the time of the blast and the cracked wall is preserved.
9. 2012 — Two earthquakes on 20 and 29 May strike the centre of the region, killing 27 and damaging both the artistic heritage and a great many factories; the magnitude 5.8 shock leaves 14,000 people temporarily homeless. Scaffolded church towers across the plain date from this.
10. 2025 — Emilia-Romagna has the highest share of immigrants of any Italian region, at 15.9 per cent of a population that stood at 4,477,009 in 2026, with Albania, Morocco, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine the largest countries of birth.