Best guidebooks for bologna, modena, parma

I am very interested in this topic too. I would like to plan a "food" by region trip.

Have you seen the 3D Maps on Google Earth? They have one of Bologna. It's fun to use. It convinced me that you would have to study where you want to go as Bologna seems very complex. You can zoom in and out.

Rick’s “Italy for Food Lovers” (cowritten with Fred Plotkin) does cover the foods of Emilia Romagna and makes restaurant recommendations.

For Emilia Romagna, I used Lonely Planet and Fodor’s chapters as a starting point.

I used an "Insights Guide" for Bologna, but that may be one which hasn't been updated (I visited in 2019). Bologna's tourism website, bolognawelcome.com, is quite helpful and is regularly updated.

excellent suggestions, thank you

Check the Bradt guides. They have one for Emilia Romagna that covers those cities.

For an upcoming trip, I am using Rough Guide mini guide to Bologna. It also has a little on day trip excursions. I am also using Lonely Planet Italy. Compared to Rough Guides and Lonely Planet guides I have used in the past, I am not impressed with these but they are still useful.

I often just use online resources. Almost every city has its own webpage guide for visitors——some better than others. Bologna’s includes current events and exhibitions, which makes it particularly useful:

https://www.bolognawelcome.com/en

https://emiliaromagnaturismo.it/en/towns/parma

https://emiliaromagnaturismo.it/en/towns/modena

https://www.visitmodena.it/en

Some are basically an ad for the hotels and Gey Your Guide, but can include some good suggestions on things to see and do (and maybe you would like a guide):

https://www.visit-parma.com/en/

I also bought the Mini Rough Guide to Bologna published in 2022. I bought the kindle version. It has a good amount of information on Bologna. There is a little on Parma (4 pages) and Modena (3 pages).

I checked out 3 books from the library. In terms of useful information, I would rank them:
1) Frommer’s Italy 2024 Edition - 22 pages on Bologna, 1 page on Modena, 7 pages on Parma
2) Fodor’s Italy 2023 Edition - 9 pages on Bologna, 3 pages on Modena 5 pages on Parma
3) Lonely Planet Italy, May 2023 Edition - The new LP format - I think it is of very little use.

Thanks to HK, I just borrowed an ebook Bradt guide to Northern Italy from a local library. It is from 2018. Even the Bradt website doesn't show anything more recent.

You'll need to go online for that kind of research, the web is full of food and travel vloggers who've been everywhere and know everything. Well at least they would have you believe that.

Thank you all for your replies. I'm getting excited to be in Italy again!!