Italy has never lacked for beautiful wedding venues. Tuscany’s hilltop borghi, the lakeside villas of Como, the terraces of the Amalfi Coast — these are the images that have defined the Italian destination wedding for a generation. They are, without question, stunning. They are also, increasingly, crowded, competitive for availability, and priced to reflect their global fame. For couples who have done their research and want something that is equally beautiful, considerably more authentic, and still largely undiscovered, there is Emilia-Romagna.

Why Emilia-Romagna

The countryside between Parma and Reggio Emilia — rolling hills, vineyards, olive groves, medieval castles above the Apennine foothills — is as beautiful as any landscape in Italy. It is also genuinely Italian in a way that the better-known destinations have struggled to maintain. The towns along the ancient Via Emilia — Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena — are cities of genuine substance: opera houses, Renaissance piazzas, markets that sell real food to real people. Emilia-Romagna is, in every meaningful sense, Italy without the performance.

For guests arriving from abroad, the region is straightforwardly accessible: Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport is well served by international carriers, and the high-speed rail network connects Reggio Emilia to Milan, Bologna, Florence, and Rome in well under two hours. The Apennine hills offer activity and excursion in abundance — and for couples who want to offer their guests something they will genuinely remember, the Motor Valley experience (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati) is unlike anything available in Tuscany or Como.

Relais Roncolo 1888: An Estate for Intimate Celebrations

In the heart of the Terre di Canossa, in the foothills of the Apennines between Parma and Reggio Emilia, stands Relais Roncolo 1888. The estate occupies 130 hectares of certified organic land — the same land that has been farmed here since 1888, certified organic since 1994, and certified B Corp since 2025. The former private residence of Marquis Manodori, the 17th-century Villa Manodori anchors a hamlet of beautifully restored historic buildings that together offer 17 rooms and suites, each unique, each shaped by the particular light and character of its place in the estate.

For weddings and private celebrations, Roncolo accommodates up to 60 guests in a setting that combines the intimacy of a private home with the substance of a fully staffed luxury estate. The in-house team manages every element of the event: the ceremony, the floral design, the catering (drawing from Ristorante Limonaia’s seasonal, farm-to-table approach), the wines (estate-grown Lambrusco and other organic labels from Venturini Baldini), and the experiences that make the surrounding days as memorable as the day itself. Each celebration at Roncolo is designed around the specific people and the specific occasion — not a package, but a plan.

The Season and the Setting

The main wedding season runs from late May through September, when the Emilian countryside is warm and the vineyards are in full growth. Late spring offers the particular beauty of flowering vines and clear Apennine light. September brings the drama of harvest — vineyards being picked, the air carrying the first cool of autumn, a quality of golden afternoon light that photographers travel across Europe to find. Spring and early autumn also offer lower demand, greater availability, and often more competitive pricing — without any sacrifice in experience.

Beyond the Venue

Emilia-Romagna offers wedding guests an itinerary that goes well beyond the celebration itself. For those who arrive early or stay on: wine tastings in the Roncolo cellar, visits to balsamic vinegar producers in the hills of Canossa, guided tours of Parma and Reggio Emilia, driving experiences on the Ferrari circuit at Maranello, lunch at the restaurants of the Motor Valley. This is a region with the rare quality of rewarding curiosity — the more guests explore, the richer the experience becomes.

For couples considering Emilia-Romagna: begin with Roncolo. A conversation with the estate’s events team will quickly establish whether the scale, the setting, and the philosophy of the place are right for what you have in mind. The answer, for the right couple, is almost invariably yes.