The wonders of Emilia Romagna

A private van equipped for the wheelchair will take you from Bologna airport to the city center.
Our vans are designed to be large and comfortable. They can accommodate up to six wheelchairs of any type and size and are equipped with an electric hydraulic platform that facilitates the ascent and descent at each stage of the tour.
Once you arrive at your five-star hotel in the historic center of Bologna, where you will enjoy a six-night stay, you will be escorted to your room so that you can leave your luggage and relax for a while. The Outreach Team has previously checked all the rooms in every detail: from the width of the doors to the height of the bed, including the spaces in the shower and between the bathroom fixtures.
Should you need the addition of any service to make your stay more comfortable at the hotel, the Outreach Team can provide you any type of equipment you need. Furthermore, once at the hotel you will meet your personal guide with whom you will discover all the details of the program.
Outreach has partnered with the most authoritative associations of bilingual guides in Italy: each of them specializes in art history and boasts many years of experience in inclusive tourism.

Bologna, a welcoming and unique city, is also well known for the world-record, 40 km arcade that wind through the streets of the city center.
This city also owns three different nicknames: the first is the “Erudite”, due to the oldest university in the world founded back in 1088, the second is the “Fat” for its excellent cuisine famous throughout the world, and the third is the “Red” for the unmistakable color of its roofs.
The city was appointed “Creative City of Music” by UNESCO in 2006 and boasts a medieval historic center that is one of the largest and best preserved in Europe, teeming with clubs, taverns, theaters and shops.
Along with the guide, you will visit the main attractions of the city: from Piazza Maggiore, where you will find the symbols of the Church’s power such as the Fountain of Neptune and the Basilica of San Petronio, to the palaces of “civil” power such as Palazzo del Podestà. An expert guide will also lead a visit to the famous Sanctuary of the Beata Vergine di San Luca and the Monumental complex of the Seven Churches, one of the areas that made this city unique in Italy.

You will enjoy lunch in an accessible luxurious restaurant where you will be able to taste many of the most famous traditional dishes: from tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce to tortellini, from lasagna to hand-cut mortadella.
In the afternoon, the tour continues to the Quadrilatero, the ancient and picturesque market of medieval origin and admire the majestic Two Towers: the 98-meter high Asinelli Tower and the Garisenda Tower, 48 meters in height and mentioned in Dante’s Inferno.

In the morning, your private van will drive you to Ferrara, a wonderful Renaissance city, in order to visit its historic center, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
The guide will take you on a special visit to the ancient residence of the Dukes of Este, the Estense Castle, through a fully accessible museum itinerary. After this stop, you will visit Palazzo Schifanoia, an extraordinary testimony of the splendor of the Renaissance era.
The new exhibition itinerary offers the visitors a modern, large and engaging museum with 21 rooms and about 250 works, including the splendid Salone dei Mesi, which contains a cycle of astrological and mythological themed frescoes.

On the way to the restaurant, the tour continues towards Casa Romei, a building that still manages to convey the charm and atmosphere of an elegant building from the fifteenth century.
You will have lunch in an elegant accessible restaurant, which offers a menu that reflects the local specialties such as the Ferrara-style cappellacci, the house specialty.

Following lunch, the tour continues to the Monumental Cemetery of the Certosa di Ferrara, where memories of the past are kept, along with masterpieces of sacred art, sparks of a past time. After the visit, you will return by private van to Bologna.

In the morning, the private van will drive you to the city of Parma to enjoy a visit in a city rich in history and culture, appointed in 2015 “Creative City for Gastronomy” by UNESCO for the excellence of its cuisine. The first stop of the guided tour will be the splendid Piazza Del Duomo, which in addition to the imposing Cathedral, also houses the Baptistery, the Diocesan Museum and the Bishop’s Palace.
The Romanesque Cathedral contains a compendium of art stretching from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. A testimony of the precious artistic value of the Cathedral is the the splendid dome frescoed by Correggio and the transept characterized by a precious bas-relief by Benedetto Antelami depicting the Deposition of Christ.
Almost all areas of the Cathedral are accessible, including the churchyard and the naves. Furthermore, you can access the crypt of the Cathedral through a new-generation elevator. Later on, you will take part in a visit of the Baptistery, a true masterpiece of Romanesque-Gothic architecture: an imposing octagonal building in pink marble designed by Benedetto Antelami at the end of the 12th century. Inside, among other things, you can admire the fascinating cycle of months and seasons by Antelami.

By the end of the visit, the private van will drive you to visit an authentic cured meat factory, only a few kilometers from Parma, where the famous Parma-ham is produced. In this place, you can discover the secrets that lie behind one of the most famous Italian products exported all over the world.
For over 30 years, the company has been one of the main producers of this rosy-colored delight with a delicate scent. Along with the bilingual guide, you will discover all the stages of the organic farm’s production process.
You will also visit the rooms reserved for drying, salting, maturing and branding with the five-pointed ducal crown, certifying the quality of the ham.

Once the visit will be over, it will be possible to enjoy a tasting session based on Parma Ham, paired with Parmigiano Reggiano, balsamic vinegar and wines from the local hills.
After lunch, the tour continues to the Pilotta Complex, a large monumental complex from the end of the 16th century housing the treasures of the Farnese family, including the Farnese Theater, the first wonderful Baroque theater in Europe built entirely of wood. Furthermore, you will be able to discover the beauty of the National Gallery, the Archaeological Museum and the Palatine Library.

In the morning, your accessible private van will drive you to Ravenna, one of the most fascinating cities in Emilia Romagna, a perfect blend of art, culture, relaxation and fun. Included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996, Ravenna is also considered the most accessible city in Italy due to social and structural policies that have made it truly accessible in every neighborhood and corner of the city.

The bilingual guide will let you admire the fascinating Byzantine details and will introduce you to the mastery of the art of mosaic and the secrets of the eight World-heritage monuments of the city. Among these, the Basilica of San Vitale, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia and the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo deserve to be mentioned for the historical and social importance they had in this area.
These eight monuments represent unique testimonies in the world for the richness and artistic quality of the mosaic decorations; the majestic gold mixes with cobalt blue and meadow green tiles in a riot of colors that will remain indelible in your mind and in your eyes.

Lunch will take place in an accessible restaurant that reflects the gourmet feeling of Ravenna and the continuous gastronomic research mingling tradition and renewal.
After lunch, the tour continues towards an important area of the city, which includes a plethora of architectural testimonies: the Arian Baptistery, with its magnificent dome, the Mausoleum of Theodoric, covered with a huge monolith of 300 tons, and the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, completely immersed in a rural landscape. The latter is known especially for the mosaics depicting the patron saint of Ravenna.
After the last stop, your accessible private van will drive you back to Bologna.

Your accessible prive van will drive you towards Modena, the city of Parmigiano Reggiano, balsamic vinegar but also of roaring engines and opera singing.
This city is indeed inextricably linked to the incredible stories of motoring genius such as those of Ferrari, Maserati and Pagani. Furthermore, Modena is also the birthplace of Luciano Pavarotti, a great Italian tenor famous all over the world vocal abilities.
Its extraordinary architectural beauties are concentrated in the quadrangular Piazza Grande. UNESCO has recognized the universal value of its treasures by declaring the Duomo, Piazza Grande and the Ghirlandina Tower a “World Heritage Site”. You will be able to discover this incredible area of the city through a guided tour with your bilingual guide, expert in the history of the city.

Lunch will be held in an accessible restaurant in the center of Modena. Thanks to an extensive menu, you will be led on a journey into the unique and inimitable taste of these lands.
In the afternoon, you can visit one of the oldest vinegar factories in Modena and discover the secrets of its production as well as taste the traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena, an exquisite condiment obtained from grape must cooked and aged for a long time in wooden barrels.
After the tasting, you will return back by private van to Bologna.

After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, your accessible private van will drive you to the airport in order to board back home.