The Romans built the Via Emilia thanks to the consul Aemilius Lepidus, the region formerly called Cisalpine Gaul took the name of “Emilia” (the Regio VIII Aemilia, with Augustus); the Via Emilia must have been traced on an ancient trade route due to the Umbrians and Etruscans or on a more ancient prehistoric and natural artery between the coast and the middle course of the Po.
