Free camping in Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna is a straight line and two edges. The Via Emilia runs north-west to south-east through Piacenza, Parma, Reggio, Modena and Bologna. The Apennines rise to the south of it. The Adriatic coast is the other edge, and it is a different country as far as a motorhome is concerned.

That geography sets the prices. Inland you meet free stopovers and small ones. On the coast in season you meet a tariff, and it is not a token.

What it costs

This is the region to check the price before you drive, because the range is wider than anywhere else on this site.

Cervia charges 30 euros a day at its Pinarella area, 33 pitches, all services included, summer only. Pavullo nel Frignano, in the Modena Apennines, is 18 euros per 24 hours for 15 pitches with a 72 hour limit. Piacenza is 10 euros a pitch at the Torrione Fodesta, 13 pitches, and it closes on Sundays. Ravenna charges a daily tariff at Marina di Ravenna between 25 April and 13 September, with 72 hours maximum.

Against that, plenty are free. Cento in the Ferrara plain, Salsomaggiore Terme in the Parma hills, Castel del Rio in the Santerno valley, Castelnovo ne’ Monti under the Pietra di Bismantova and Scandiano all are, on their comuni’s own word. Cervia itself runs one of each: a free area and the 30 euro one.

So the rule of thumb is softer than it first looks. The expensive nights are the coastal ones in season and a couple of the bigger towns. Away from the Adriatic in summer, Emilia-Romagna is not an expensive region to cross.

The Apennines

Carpineti has three pitches, documented by the tourist office of the unione of Apennine Reggiano comuni. Vezzano sul Crostolo is in the same Matildic country, the hills of the Canossa castles. Santa Sofia, at Corniolo, sits under the Foreste Casentinesi national park on the Romagna side.

These are small and they are quiet, which is the point of them. Two practical notes: at altitude the service water is commonly shut off through winter to stop the pipes freezing, and hill roads in this part of the Apennines are narrow enough that a long van wants a look at the map before committing.

The Via Emilia

Castell’Arquato in the Piacenza hills is a genuinely beautiful medieval town and its camper parking is the P5 on via Niero. Castelnuovo Rangone near Modena, Castel San Pietro Terme with eleven pitches on viale Oriani, and Cento with its free piazzale, are all on or near the line.

This is the food corridor: Parmigiano, prosciutto di Parma, aceto balsamico tradizionale in Modena, and the towns are close enough together that a week here is a short-drive week. The historic centers all have a ZTL, so park at the edge and walk in.

Dates on the pages

Some of the sources here are current and some are old. Pavullo’s page was updated in October 2025 and Ravenna’s in April 2026; Vezzano’s dates from 2014. Every place page says which body published the details and when, so you can see what you are relying on before you plan a night around it.

Where a page is old, the site is usually still there and the price is the part most likely to have moved. Bring coins and read the machine.

Rules

Article 185 of the Codice della Strada is the national position: a motorhome resting on the ground only through its wheels, and no wider than the vehicle itself, is parked rather than camped. It does not give you permission to park in any given place. That is the comune’s to give, and on this coast the comuni use it. The Italy country page has the article in the original.

Related

• Italy country page
• The Italy map