Emilia is a historical region of northern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 which approximately corresponds to the western and north-eastern portions of today’s Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....

 region

Regions of Italy

The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....

. It takes its name from the Via Aemilia

Via Aemilia

The Via Aemilia was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from Ariminum , on the Adriatic coast, to Placentia on the river Padus . It was completed in 187 BC...

, a Roman road

Roman road

The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...

 constructed by the consul

Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...

 Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in 187 BCE to connect Rimini

Rimini

Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...

 with Piacenza

Piacenza

Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...

.

The eastern boundary is formed by the rivers Sillaro

Sillaro

The Sillaro river is a 66 km-long Italian stream, whose headwaters are by the village of Piancaldoli , in Tuscany. It runs northeast through the city of Castel San Pietro Terme, Province of Bologna in Emilia Romagna and ends as a tributary of the Reno River by the village of San Biagio di Argenta,...

 and Reno, which divide it from Romagna

Romagna

Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west...

. To the north the river Po forms its border with Veneto

Veneto

Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

 and Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

. To the west and south the Apennine

Apennine mountains

The Apennines or Apennine Mountains or Greek oros but just as often used alone as a noun. The ancient Greeks and Romans typically but not always used "mountain" in the singular to mean one or a range; thus, "the Apennine mountain" refers to the entire chain and is translated "the Apennine...

 drainage divide separates it from Liguria

Liguria

Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...

 and Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

. Administratively it comprises the provinces

Provinces of Italy

In Italy, a province is an administrative division of intermediate level between a municipality and a region .-Overview:...

 of Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Ferrara and (except for the communes of Imola

Imola

thumb|250px|The Cathedral of Imola.Imola is a town and comune in the province of Bologna, located on the Santerno river, in the Emilia-Romagna region of north-central Italy...

 and Dozza

Dozza

Dozza is an Italian comune in the province of Bologna. Dozza is known for its festival of the painted wall, which takes place every two years. During this festival, famous national and international artists paint steady works on the walls of the houses. A local landmark is the Sforza's Castle,...

, and the valley of the Santerno

Santerno

The Santerno is a river of Romagna, in northern Italy, the major tributary of the Reno River. In Roman times, it was known as the Vatrenus , although, in the Tabula Peutingeriana, it was already identified as the Santernus....

) Bologna.

The region corresponds approximately to the ancient Cispadane Gaul which, under the Augustan

Augustus

Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

 territorial organisation of Italia c. 7 CE, became Regio VIII Aemilia.