EMILIA, a territorial division (compartimento) of Italy, bounded by Venetia and Lombardy on the N., Liguria on the W., Tuscany on the S., the Marches on the S.E., and the Adriatic Sea on the E. It has an area of 7,967 sq.m., and a population of (1901), which had grown to 3,122,53o (1931), embrac ing the provinces of Bologna, Ferrara, Forli, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Ravenna and Reggio nell' Emilia.
The northern portion is a great plain from the Via Aemilia to the Po; its highest point is not more than 200 ft. above sea-level, while along the east coast are lagoons at the mouth of the Po and those called the Valli di Comacchio to the south of them, and to the south again the plain round Ravenna (1 o ft.), which continues as far as Rimini, where the mountains come down to the coast.
Immediately to the south-east of the Via Aemilia the mountains begin to rise, culminating in the central chain of the Ligurian and Tuscan Apennines. The boundary follows the summits of the chain in the provinces of Parma, Reggio and Modena, passing over the Monte Bue (5,915 ft.) and the Monte Cimone (7,103 ft.), while in the provinces of Bologna and Forli it keeps along the N.E. slopes of the chain. With the exception of the Po, the main rivers of Emilia descend from this portion of the Apennines, the majority of them being tributaries of the Po; the Trebbia (which rises in the province of Genoa), Taro, Secchia and Panaro are the most important. Even the Reno, Ronco and Montone, which now flow directly into the Adriatic, were, in Roman times, tributaries of the Po, and the Savio and Rubicon seem to be the only streams of any importance from these slopes of the Tuscan Apennines which ran directly into the sea in Roman times. A considerable amount of electric power is derived from these rivers, and the stations are connected with the Alpine plants, so that interchange at different seasons is possible.
Railway communication in the plain of Emilia is mainly afforded by the line from Piacenza to Rimini. This, as far as Bologna, forms part of the main route from Milan to Florence and Rome, while beyond Rimini it follows the S.E. coast of Italy past Ancona as far as Brindisi and Lecce. The description follows this main line in a south-east direction. Piacenza, being immediately south of a bridge over the Po, is an important centre ; a line runs to the west to Voghera, through which it communicates with the lines of west Lombardy and Piedmont, and immediately north of the Po a line goes off to Cremona. A new bridge over the Po carries a direct line from Cremona to Fidenza, and thence to Fornovo, on the line from Parma to Spezia. From Parma starts a main line, which crosses the Apennines to Spezia (and Sarzana, for Pisa and Rome), tunnelling under the pass of La Cisa, while lines run north and north-east to Brescia and Suzzara. From Reggio branch lines run to Guastalla, Carpi and Sassuolo, there being also a line from Sassuolo to Modena. At Modena the line to Verona through Suz zara and Mantua diverges to the north ; there is also a branch north-north-east to Mirandola, and another south to Vignola. Bologna is, however, the most important railway centre; besides the line south to Pistoia and Florence over the Apennines (soon to be superseded by a direct line to Prato), and due north to Verona and the line south-east to Rimini, Ancona and Brindisi, there is the main line N.N.E. to Ferrara, Padua and Venice, and there are branches to Budrio and Portomaggiore to the north-east, and to S. Felice sul Panaro and Poggio Rusco to the north which connect the main lines of the district.
At Castel Bolognese, 5 m. N.W. of Faenza, a branch goes off to Lugo, whence there are connections with Budrio, Lavezzola (on the line between Ravenna and Ferrara) and Ravenna, and at Faenza a line goes across the Apennines to Florence. Rimini is connected by a direct line with Ravenna and Ferrara ; and Ferrara, besides the main line S.S.W. to Bologna and N. by E. to Padua, has a branch to Poggio Rusco, on the main line between Bologna and Verona. The main products of the plain are cereals, vegetables (tomatoes), wine, and, in the marshy districts near the Po, rice; the system prevailing is that of the mezzadria—half the produce to the owner and half to the cultivator. Beet sugar is produced, the combined production of Emilia and Veneto being 78% of the total for Italy. Still more, however, might be done with the aid of irrigation and reclamation : the latter is proceeding perhaps more successfully than the former. The ancient Roman divisions of the fields are still preserved in some places. There are also consider able pastures, and cheese is produced, especially Parmesan. Flax, hemp and silkworms are also cultivated, and a considerable quan tity of poultry kept. The hill districts produce cereals, vines, olives and fruit ; while on the mountains are considerable chestnut and other forests, and extensive summer pastures, the flocks going in part to the Maremma in summer, and in part to the pastures of the plain of the Emilia.
The name Emilia comes from the Via Aemilia (q.v.), the Roman road from Ariminum to Placentia, which traversed the entire dis trict 'from S.E. to N.W., its line being closely followed by the modern railway. The name was transferred to the district (which formed the eighth Augustan region of Italy) as early as the time of Martial, in popular usage, and in the 2nd and 3rd centuries it is frequently named as a district under imperial judges, generally in combination with Flaminia or Liguria and Tuscia. The district of Ravenna was, as a rule, from the 3rd to the 5th century, not treated as part of Aemilia, the chief town of the latter being Placentia. In the 4th century Aemilia and Liguria were joined to form a consular province ; of ter that Aemilia stood alone, Ravenna being sometimes temporarily added to it. The boundaries of the ancient district correspond approximately with those of the modern.