Reggiana Playbook: Your Unrivalled Experience Where the Italian Flag was Born

There are Italian clubs with bigger trophy cabinets and louder reputations abroad, but few tell a stranger story than AC Reggiana 1919.

The Granata spent the last three seasons in Serie B before dropping back into Serie C for 2026-27, yet the club’s identity in Reggio Emilia has never depended on the division they play in.

This is a city where football sits inside a wider civic pride, the same pride that produced the Italian tricolour flag itself, and where a matchday still means queuing for gnocco fritto before kick-off rather than fighting through corporate hospitality.

The twist is the stadium: Reggiana built their ground, only to lose it in bankruptcy two decades ago. Today they play as tenants in the very ground their own supporters once financed, sharing it Sassuolo, who now own it.

For a travelling fan, that contradiction is part of what makes a weekend in Reggio Emilia worth the trip.

Where To Stay

Reggio Emilia’s compact centre makes it easy to base a weekend there, rather than out near the stadium itself.

Hotel Posta, on the central Piazza del Monte, is one of the oldest hotels in Italy and puts visitors within walking distance of the main squares and the aperitivo scene.

Albergo delle Notarie is a smaller, more intimate option in the historic centre, well suited to fans travelling in pairs or small groups.

For something closer to the ground, City Style Hotel Reggio Emilia sits within easy reach of the stadium and the rail network, while Hotel Remilia, a modern four-star property, works well for those arriving by car or via the AV Mediopadana station.

As with most Italian cities, Reggio Emilia also has a wide range of apartments and short-term rentals through Airbnb and Booking.com.

Where To Eat

Reggio Emilia sits at the heart of Emilia’s food culture. It is home to Parmigiano Reggiano, and here, eating deserves to be as much a part of the trip as the match itself.

Ristorante Canossa, on Via Roma, is run by four brothers who handle everything from the kitchen to the dining room. It serves traditional dishes in a room that still feels like a step back in time.

Trattoria La Morina offers a similarly traditional experience, with classic Emilian dishes served in a warm, unpretentious setting popular with locals rather than tourists.

For something more casual, Piccola Piedigrotta, universally known in the city simply as ‘da Giovanni’, has become an institution of Reggio pizza, with a small dining room looking onto one of the centre’s prettiest hidden squares.

Casa delle Sementi combines a restaurant with a genuinely distinctive setting, all vintage furniture and flowers in a historic building in the centre, and works equally well for a proper dinner or a more relaxed evening.

Matilde Bistrot rounds things out with a more contemporary take on Reggiana cooking, a good option for visitors who want local ingredients presented with a modern touch.

Where To Drink

The closest bar to the Stadio Città del Tricolore is Circolo Pigal. It is so close to the ground it stays packed until minutes before kick-off. Take note of the stadium name: Reggiana fans do not recognise it as the Mapei Stadium and refer to their ground by the old name. Malvy is another meeting point for fans, about a 20-minute walk away.

Back in the historic centre, Piazza Fontanesi is where Reggio’s aperitivo culture concentrates, a lively square lined with bars that fills up from late afternoon onwards. Republic Pub, tucked just off the piazza, is a relaxed spot for a well-poured beer and a sandwich, popular with a mixed crowd rather than a tourist one.

The Craftsman, right on Piazza Fontanesi, offers a more intimate cocktail-bar experience for those looking for something more curated before or after the match.

Jigger, a short walk away on Via San Carlo, took the title of Italy’s best cocktail bar at the 2016 Barawards and remains one of the most talked-about drinking spots in the city for anyone who takes their cocktails seriously.

Caffè Fontanesi, known locally as ‘da Bacicchi’ after its longtime owner, was one of the first bars to establish itself on the piazza and remains a classic reference point for a Reggio aperitivo, even if it now sits at the pricier end of the square.

Don’t Forget

Tickets for Reggiana matches are sold through VivaTicket, online and at authorised points of sale, as well as at the club’s official store near the stadium.

Away-section sales for Serie C fixtures typically open a few days before the match and close the evening before kick-off, with no sales at the turnstiles on the day, so this is not a ticket to leave until the last minute.

A valid ID document is required at the turnstiles.

Did You Know?

Reggio Emilia is where the Italian tricolour flag was first adopted, in 1797.

The stadium itself carries an equally striking back story: built by and for Reggiana in the mid-1990s as one of the first privately owned grounds in Italian football, it was sold off in a creditors’ auction after the club’s 2005 bankruptcy and bought by Mapei, the company behind Sassuolo, in 2013. Reggiana fans boycotted a recent match between the teams in protest over ticket allocation and their general feeling toward the Sassuolo ownership and stadium situation.

Getting There

The stadium is in the Mancasale district, roughly 3km north of the city centre, with its own small railway stop, Reggio Stadio, reachable in around five minutes by regional train from Reggio Emilia’s central station.

Fans arriving from further afield can use the AV Mediopadana station, the striking Calatrava-designed high-speed stop connecting the city to Milan and Bologna, from where the stadium is a short taxi or bus ride away.

The nearest major airport is Bologna Guglielmo Marconi, around 45 minutes by car or train, with Parma’s smaller airport a closer alternative for some routes.

Accessible parking is available in a dedicated area near the stadium, and the club offers an assisted transport service on matchdays for wheelchair users who book ahead through the municipality; it is worth arranging this before travelling.

Need Another Football Fix?

Watching Sassuolo is an easy way to add a top-flight match to the same weekend without changing venue. Reggiana’s oldest rivalries run along the Via Emilia: the Derby dell’Enza against Parma and the Derby della Secchia against Modena remain the fixtures that matter most in the city, whatever division the sides sit in.

In Serie C Girone B, Reggiana now line up against Ravenna, Pescara and Spezia, three sides that add real weight to this season’s regional trips, while Bologna is much closer and handy for anyone extending the weekend further into Emilia-Romagna.