Getting into gear for the spectacular Via Emilia

Getting into gear for the spectacular Via Emilia – I get a strong feeling that watching a virtual version of the Italian region of Emilia Romagna’s ‘Motor Valley’ museums and the spectacular delights of the Via Emilia could well become a practice run for the real thing next year.

The Lamborghini and Ducati museums and the ancient Roman road’s must-see sights can all currently be explored and enjoyed from the comfort of our own homes.

The passion for racing and motors runs through the veins in Emilia-Romagna.

The northern Italian region is long regarded as the ‘Motor Valley’ due to its important contribution to Italy’s motor industry and home to celebrated names such as Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and Ducati.

Aiming at inspiring future travel to the region, Motor Valley’s motor museums have ‘opened’ online and offer free virtual tours for everyone to experience their rich motor heritage:

• Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena – reopened its doors to visitors on 18 May as part of Italy’s emergence from lockdown. Brits can get a preview through a virtual tour here

• Ducati Museum in Borgo Panigale, Bologna – virtual tour here

• The Lamborghini Museum MUDETEC in Sant’Agata, Bologna – virtual tour here

Emilia-Romagna’s Motor Valley stretches out along the thousand-year-old Roman road that gives its name to an entire Italian region, the Via Emilia, covering 165 miles from Piacenza (west) to Rimini (east), on the Adriatic coast. 

Some of Via Emilia’s most evocative views can also be experienced in a video recently released online. Highlights include the peculiar, triangular Piazza Santo Stefano (Bologna), the impressive Vigoleno Castle (Piacenza), the Roman Tiberio Bridge (Rimini) and the medieval village of Brisighella (Ravenna), amongst others.

But you know, and I know, there’s nothing like the real thing….roll on next year.

For further information on the region of Emilia Romagna, visit www.emiliaromagnaturismo.it/en.