Bologna is the capital of Emilia Romagna and the only route between the north and the south of the peninsula. First an Etruscan town, then Gallic, Bologna was also a Roman colony and municipality During the Middle Ages the city became a city-republic, it achieved glory and power in 1249 with the victorious battle of Fossalta, where King Enzo, son of the Emperor Frederick II, fell prisoner Within its walls in the XI century the first university in the world was established. After alternating between various Signorie in the XVI century Bologna became a definitive part of the Papal State, it did however maintain its old judicial system, first of all the senate, and its own ambassador in Rome. In the striking historical centre, which is one of the best conserved in Europe, stand ancient palazzos and churches, rich in works of art which just go to prove the cultural significance that Bologna has had over the centuries. Bologna has one of the most modern Trade Fair Districts, an efficient Conference Palazzo, buildings which are receptive to the passing of time while acting as the jewels in the crown of an abundant mass of extremely important industrial companies in the fields of mechanics and agri-foodstuff transformation, etc. A long trail of almost 40 Km. roads which are decorated by arches enabling aspects of life which are rich in humour to come together, while also shopping in prestigious boutiques or in small or large markets and even food markets, to get to know a multiform reality, culturally and economically inserted in XXI Century Europe.