Located in northern Italy, Emilia-Romagna is a prolific wine region covering more than 136,000 acres under vine (2010). The 15-mile area spans almost the entire width of the northern Italian peninsula and is located between Tuscany (to the south) Lombardy and Veneto (to the north) and the Adriatic Sea (to the east). This unique region is the only part of Italy with both east and west coast borders.

Emilia is named for the Via Aemilia, a road built by the ancient Romans connecting Bologna to the cities of Modena, Reggio Emilia and Parma to the northwest. The Romans also developed the eastern portion of the province which stretches to the Adriatic Sea and includes Ravenna, once the capital of the Western Roman Empire.