Emilia-Romagna in 10 Snaps: An Instagram Session.

onsistently in the Top 5 most in demand tourist spots in the world, Italy gets more than 40 million visitors a year. Legacy cities, like Rome, Venice and Florence, get most of the action, leaving some of the best regions seemingly tourist free.

One such place is Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy. Set between Milan, Cinque Terre, Venice and Florence, Emilia-Romagna jumps with local flavors, customs and pride, doing so many things well that it is hard to comprehend how its nine provinces have been consistently overlooked by travelers for so long.

Emilia-Romagna is anchored firmly by its capital city, Bologna, but each city in this region brings something to the table, often times literally–tortellini, Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) and the world’s best balsamic vinegar are all staples of this eclectic environment. Let’s just say that after spending a week eating my way through the region, I split my pants 24 hours later while straddling a bench near the Colosseum in Rome.

Related: Under the Porticos of Bologna

I know what you are thinking: Why the heck would I pull a Rick Steves (think: Cinque Terre) and go blabbing all about Emilia-Romagna? Well, because we love you guys and we do what we do to share our discoveries with you. Plus, I’m no Rick Steves, so I’m confident that no matter how much I share our love for Emilia-Romagna logic dictates that the masses, when traveling to Italy, will still always choose the country’s famed cities for their one or two week vacations, ensuring that this little piece of foodie heaven will remain off the proverbial beaten path for years to come.

We spent a week in the region with Emilia-Romagna Tourism as part of its Blog Ville project, using Bologna as our home base. So, we have a lot of great stories and photos to share with you over the coming weeks and months. In an ode, though, to old travel days when postcards and snapshots were how many of us got our first glimpses of foreign lands, we decided to showcase a handful of our favorite iPhone photos from our journey as an introduction to this amazing region.

One of several ancient canals that runs through and under the city of Bologna.

Homemade lunch by Sports In Open Spaces who guided us on our white water adventure down the Trebbia River.

Piccolo and Sublime, a local hangout in the university section of Bologna.

The sacred halls of the Parmigiano-Reggiano Consortium in Parma, Italy.

The medieval colors of Grazzano Visconti, a village in northern Emilia-Romagna.

Piacenza, Italy

Black Gold from Acetaia di Giorgio in Modena.

Chef Ivan Polatti of Cantina Bentivoglio making Emilia-Romagna’s signature dish, tagliatelle al ragu.

Selection of breads, including the local favorite, Tigella.

Bobbio, Italy

Do you have a favorite destination that is off the tourist path?

*This is story is part of Blog Ville, a campaign created and managed by iambassador in partnership with the Emilia-Romagna Tourism Board. As always, our thoughts and opinions are entirely our own.