The name Emilia-Romagna is a legacy of Ancient Rome. Emilia derives from via Æmilia, the Roman road connecting Rome to northern Italy, completed in 187 BC and named after the consul Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. Romagna derives from Rom?nia, the name of the Eastern Roman Empire applied to Ravenna by the Lombards when the western Empire had ceased to exist and Ravenna was an outpost of the east (ca. 540 - 751). Before the Romans took control of Emilia Romagna, it had been part of the Etruscan world and then that of the Gauls.

During the first thousand years of Christianity trade flourished, as did culture and religion, thanks to the region's monasteries. Afterwards the University of Bologna - arguably the oldest university in Europe - and its bustling towns kept trade and intellectual life alive. Its unstable political history is exemplified in such figures as Matilda of Canossa and struggling seigniories such as the Este of Ferrara, the Malatesta of Rimini, the Popes of Rome, the Farnese of Parma and Piacenza, and theDuchy of Modena and Reggio. In the 16th century, most of these were seized by the Papal States, but the territories of Parma, Piacenza, and Modena remained independent until Emilia-Romagna became part of the Italian kingdom between 1859 and 1861.

The region of Emilia-Romagna consists of nine provinces and covers an area of 22,446 km2 (8,666 sq mi), ranking 6th in Italy. Nearly half of the region (48%) consists of plains while 27% is hilly and 25% mountainous.

The Regional Government (Giunta Regionale) is presided by the President of the Region (Presidente della Regione), who is elected for a five-year term, and is composed by the President, the Ministers (Assessori), who are currently 12, including a Vice President and one Under-Secretary for in President's office.