Links in text: Hotel Villa Maranello, Ferrari, 4 Madonne Caseificio dell'Emilia, Giuseppe Giusti Aceto Balsamico, Mercato Albinelli, Bloom, Outlet Fidenza Village, KM90 Risto Bottega Emiliana, Agriturismo All'antica Ruggine,Tra l' uss e l' asa, Mercato delle Erbe, Caffe Terzi, Sfoglia Rina, Simoni, FICO
Emilia Romagna stretches across the central part of Italy in the east-west direction. On one side, its connection with the Mediterranean Sea is closed by the province of Liguria, but on the other side it reaches the city of Rimini on the Adriatic coast. In West besides Liguria, it also borders with Piedmont, in the North you can find Lombardy and Veneto and, in the South, there are Tuscany and Marche. Its geographic position indicates, that we are talking about the center of the global culinary surpluses. It’s the place of mortadella Bologna, balsamic vinegar, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Parma ham, endless number of other cheeses and salami, but also vibrant red sparkling wine Lambrusco.
Emilia Romagna is also known as the motor valley, it's the home of the prestigious cars and motorcycle such as: Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Ducati. There you can also find the headquarters of the giant food company Barilla with its culinary academy, numerous local farmers and food producers, developed fashion industry with brands: Max Mara, Furla, Pollini, La Perla, ... Only the value of the Ferrari company is estimated at approx. 11 billion €, so rightfully we are talking about one of the richest and more developed regions in the world, but certainly the richest province of Italy.
Well-being, economic development, lifestyle and culture lead to satisfied, generous and happy people. They are mostly in a good mood, ready to answer any questions, full of advice and guidance, particularly on food and socializing.
Despite the fact that they are the world's gastronomy elite they aren’t full of themselves, they are extremely hardworking and organized, always ready to help and have fun, especially with kids. The prices of food services are very reasonable, effort and interest to serve delicious and interesting food will always be accompanied with an interesting explanation. They don’t hide the recipes, but proudly explain the whole process of preparation, happy that you show the interest, appreciating the effort needed to create these culinary delights.
Emilia Romagna is a paradise for foodies, but visit should be mandatory for those who are professionally involved with culinary and food. Gastronomy knowledge is at extremely high level, and is accessible to all layers of the population. Excellent food is not reserved only for prestigious, wealthy guests, but it’s a part of the daily routine and life in general, so the locals are excellently culinary informed. The market eliminates food yuppies, who considers food only as a quick earning without the passion associated with the knowledge and culture.
Maranello
We drive past Venice, Padova and Rovigo, where we leave the province of Veneto, entering in the province of Emilia Romagna. The road leads us past Ferrara, Bologna and finally we arrive in Maranello where we booked Hotel Villa Maranello, which I strongly recommend. It’s a family-run hotel with a very popular local food restaurant. You can relax enjoying an excellent dinner with a bottle of Lambrusco wine and the room is only a ride with an elevator away. Maranello is a small town, located next to the city of Modena and has an ideal location for easy reaching our main points on this trip. It’s known for the factory and the Museum of Ferrari. There are two museums, one is in Modena and is named after the founder of Ferrari Enzo Ferrari Museum, where this car is presented through history, while in Maranello there is mostly the exhibition of formulas in the well-known Formula room. Children can find this exhibition very interesting, so in the afternoon, you can take a tour of one or both museums.
Modena and its surroundings
After breakfast it’s time to visit the countryside, where at first glance it seems very calm without many people but if we stop and visit one of the numerous cheese factories or balsamic vinegar houses, we are surprised with pretty lively happening.
App. 30-minute drive from the hotel is our first stop in cheese production plant 4 Madonne Caseificio dell ' Emilia, where we learn the production process of the King, Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese. It’s necessary to book a guided tour in advance and at the same time decide on your tasting plate because at the end of the tour you’ll have a cheese and salami tasting. You pay only the tasting, not the tour and of course there is also a store, if you like the Parmigiano Reggiano enjoy, because it's worth. As an interesting tell, the cheese rolls of Parmigiano Reggiano that don’t reach the standards for sale are offered to local farmers as feed for pigs, which also contributes to the taste of the world’s famous Parma ham.
Next stop is just a 5-minute drive away, where we get to know the production of balsamic vinegar in the house Giuseppe Giusti "Aceto Balsamico. It’s also necessary to book your visit in advance, the tour is free, at the end you are invited to a guided tasting, where under the impression of everything seen and tasted usually we buy a few of these top-quality products. Visits can be arranged by email, so you can easily organize your trip at home.
It's time for Modena and its famous covered food market Mercato Albinelli (open until 14:30), it would be sin to miss it, with lots of people and even more food to choose. Around the market, there are many snack-bars with an excellent assortment of local food. Take a time for a lunch, the prices are affordable and better food is hard to find. Afternoon goes by quickly, because they don’t have the same retail chains, offering same standard boring stuff as in all other cities, their streets are full of local boutiques, where you can get unique, quality products for reasonable price, from jewelry to leather goods, perfumes and clothing. Not to be missed is ice-cream Bloom, crowned with the first prize of Italy’s best gelato. We tried almost every flavor, it’s so good. There is also a traditional pastry shops Antica Pasticceria S. Biagio, where Pavarotti used to go. Modena is a city of Pavarotti and you can also visit his House-Museum.
Fidenza and Parma
Next morning, we are headed to Fidenza, that’s approx. 1-hour drive. On the highway we drive past Parma, where we can see the huge Barilla complex, which also includes a culinary academy. We are going to Outlet Fidenza Village, because in such a developed and wealthy place is much more choice and prices are more affordable than elsewhere. Even if you have no intention of shopping, the variety of goods is enormous and store windows are real eye catcher. Lunch is a couple of streets away in the KM90 Risto Bottega Emiliana, where you can find gastronomy of Emilia Romagna in one place. Don’t forget to book a table, as Italian restaurants are usually fully occupied. If you want a local lunch in the county side, the place to visit is Agriturismo All'antica Ruggine, which is approx. 15 minutes drive along the local road.
After lunch, take a look at the city of Fidenza and drink your afternoon coffee there. Local gastronomy is linked to the various salami, among them is the specialty of this place and also the best known salami that really stands out – Culatello. In the city center, its surroundings and even on the local road Fidenza - Parma, we find a numerous shop where you can stop for a snack and salami tasting.
In Parma, life also revolves around food. A plate of salami and cheese, two glasses of wine, two coffees and a beverage for children is approx. 12 €, in a bar in the Parma city center. The prices are really reasonable. There you can also find a kind of a snack bar, named Tra l 'uss e l'Asa and the owners are really special people. Lorenzo is a chef with a heart and during our visit, there weren’t many people, so he pampered us with every single meal, and his Laura is a lady who takes care of the guests and creates a pleasant atmosphere. We are good eaters and at some point, Lorenzo was a bit in a panic because we didn’t want to stop eating. What to say, if we ate tripe, which I can’t stand otherwise, but these tripe recipe was perfect. The price for a variety of dishes, for 4 good eaters with a bottle of Lambrusco wine and water was 60,00 €.
Bologna
After breakfast, we say goodbye to our hosts and go to a full-day exploration of Bologna. It’s a large university city with lots of events and very crowded. Pay attention to the traffic regulations, without paying a daily permit for a car entrance into the city center, you will be in a traffic offense. Traffic is very quick, signalization is very bad, and you can immediately find yourself in the banned part where the cameras take a picture of your car and the penalty follows in two steps. The first penalty is received already in a city, tucked under a hood so strongly that you don’t even notice it. Despite paying the parking lot for a full day, you parked in a prohibited zone, so that’s why you receive the first penalty, while the second one you’ll receive a few months later by post, as the camera took a picture of your car, when you drove into the city. It's misleading because the locals drive everywhere, and as a visitor you aren't familiar with every single regulation in a foreign city. If you want to experience Bologna without a bitterness, park in the garage houses before entering the city center.
It’s a must to visit their covered food market Mercato delle Erbe, which leaves us speechless, seep coffee in the famous coffe shop Caffe Terzi, it’s considered to be the best coffee in the city, or try homemade tortellini in the daily restaurant Sfoglia Rina where you can buy these small delights also for home. Tortellini are their traditional dish, whole communities manually preparing them in workshops daily and certainly you can’t find better ones. Once you try this tortellini, there's no way back. In the back streets of the main square there are countless snack-bars, cafes, restaurants, there you can find Eataly, fish street, salami store Simoni, their products are worth buying, if you have the opportunity try Porchetta, ... food and beverage is everywhere and in addition to that recently in Bologna was opened FICO, the largest food park in the world.
