He was an Italian, from dirt-poor Emilia-Romagna, who followed his family to France to find work.

ECONOMIST: Lazare Ponticelli

In May, the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy was shocked by two significant earthquakes, just 9 days apart.

FORBES: The Biggest Italian Dinner In History, Thanks To Social Media

Emilia-Romagna has the unique distinction of being the breadbasket of Italy, and arguably the single most important gourmet food production region in the world.

FORBES: The Biggest Italian Dinner In History, Thanks To Social Media

If there is an Italian product you would go to a gourmet store to buy, there is a high likelihood it comes from Emilia-Romagna.

FORBES: The Biggest Italian Dinner In History, Thanks To Social Media

Mr Veltroni was particularly shaken last week, when his party colleague in charge of the regional government in Emilia-Romagna, a bastion of the left, defected to Mr Prodi.

ECONOMIST: Italy

Run by former Australian road cycling champion Wayne Hibberd, it is modelled on Italy's cycling-specific Hotel Dory in the Emilia-Romagna region , and features the likes of bike storage, racks and tyre pumps.

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Vanessa's stuffed zucchini with meatballs evoked memories of how her own Italian grandmother used to cook, while my freshly made rigatoni with a white ragout of small sausage meatballs, cannellini beans and rosemary was by far the most memorable pasta experience I had in Emilia-Romagna.

CNN: Eating sunup to sundown in Bologna, Italy