The Emilia-Romagna region is a well-known for it’s food – most of which you’d recognize by name: Parmigiano-Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, Balsamic Vinegar, and more… so we were obviously excited to spend some time here!

Tuesday, October 1

Parma

On our way to Bologna for the night, we stopped in the Province of Parma for a few hours. This region is well known for amazing food! We grabbed lunch, enjoyed a tour at a Parmigiano-Reggiano farm, and did a bit of shopping.

Fidenza Village

Via S. Michele Campagna 1
43036 Fidenza PR, Italy

Our first stop was just outside Parma at the Fidenza Village outlet mall. I had eyed a bag at Coccinelle in Verona and was hoping to find it for less at the outlet.

(Because who doesn’t want to go home with an Italian Leather bag that you can’t get in the US?! Also, the name translates to Jealous, so… are you?)

Unfortunately they didn’t have the size I wanted at the outlet, but I did grab a few gifts and a smaller version of the Jalouse for a friend at a pretty good discount. The clerk also called and put the Medium bag on hold for me at the regular Coccinelle store in Parma so that I could grab it quickly later in the day.

We stopped at a couple more shops to peek around and then headed out.

Note: If you buy something of worth in Italy, don’t forget that you need to have them prepare the VAT refund paperwork/receipt. You will get your refund processed at their airport on the way out, but you need the forms from the store. You’ll also want to prepare some extra time for that process at the airport. In MXP airport, it took me about 20 minutes, which was worth it for the stuff we bought that qualified (~$100 USD).

Locanda del Culatello (5/5)

Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi 12
43019 Soragna, Province of Parma

Next stop, lunch! I had found this on Yelp a few days earlier, and it happened to be on the way to our cheese farm tour. It was a little off the beaten path, which seemed exciting, so we decided to take the gamble. Oh, what a gem we found!!

Great service by the owner (Ivan), who went line by line on the menu to help us understand everything since they didn’t have an English menu anymore. We went with his suggestions for all the courses as well as the wine.

Quick lesson on Culatello, which is the name of the restaurant (which translates to Culatello Inn):

Culatello is one of Italy’s most exclusive, in-demand and highly prized meats. In order to be considered official “Culatello di Zibello DOP”, it must have been produced in one of only 8 municipalities that run along the Po Valley in the Emilia-Romagna region. The pork used in this type of salumi is taken from the large thigh muscles in the hind legs and boasts a special curing process that results in a sweet and aromatic flavor.

You’re welcome.

In conversation, we learned that Ivan has his own production farm a few km away (Antica Ardenga di Massimo Pezzani) where regional favorites such as the Culatello di Zibello and Prosciutto di Parma are made.

Ivan also grows his own truffles about 30 km from the restaurant. He even brought a jar of fresh truffles out for us to smell before slicing them over our pasta by hand. YUM!!

We loved all the food we got (the local wine was just OK, though). And what a steal for this type of food! Seriously worth the effort to get there if you can.

Azienda Agricola Guareschi

Strada Canaletto 2
43010 Roccabianca, Province of Parma, Italy
www.agricolaguareschi.it

I realized at 10 pm the night before went to Parma that all the Parmesan and Balsamic Vinegar tours required reservations (#travelfail), so I emailed 10 places to see if anyone could take us for the next day. Only 2 were able to accommodate, so a shout out to the farm owner, Mario Guareschi, who helped us reserve the tour last-minute for the same day and provided us a wonderful private tour!

Learn from our mistake – it would be best to reserve ahead of time so you can plan your timing better. Although we still had a great tour, we learned that it’s ideal to go in the morning (around 8 am) to see the actual cheese process. Because we went in the afternoon, we saw the machines And the cheese rounds, but not the actual production from the fresh milk.

Since we did the meat lesson, we have to do the cheese lesson:

Parmigiano-Reggiano, like the Culatello, is exclusive to one specific region and 5 provinces: Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna and Mantua.

The reason for the exclusivity has to do with the soil in which the grass and hay grow. Why does that matter? Because what the cows feed on (it’s very strict!) and the environment they live in determine the microbial flora of the cows, which therefore determines the bacterial content of the milk. And the unique bacterial content of the raw milk is what produces the well-known and well-loved flavor during the fermentation process.

For my lactose intolerant friends… did you know that true Parmigiano-Reggiano is lactose-free? Something about the process removes it and makes it one of the most digestible cheeses in the world!

So, how do you know if it’s real? The authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano is marked with a stamp (seal) on the edge of the wheel.

In order to obtain the critical seals and marks, the farm must prove to the Consorteum that they are following all rules of production. In addition, evaluators tap aged wheels with a little hammer to make sure there aren’t too many gas bubbles (that could indicate additives were used). Of course, another step in the official verification process is the taste test!

After the tour of the farm, we played the role of the evaluator and enjoyed a tasting of 3 different cheese ages (12, 24 and 30 months). Obviously we ended up buying some! Our favorite was the one aged 24 months.

The cost was €10/person for the tour and tasting, but it was just the two of us! The cheese was bought was €15,50 per kilo, so we got about 2,5 kilos = €38,94

Parma City Centre

As is typical of all city centres in Italy, it’s important to be aware of the ZTL in Parma. Unfortunately, there is no great way to get into the city center without walking or biking. We parked outside the ZTL and I walked about 10 minutes (fast-walking since we didn’t have very many coins for the parking spot!) to get to the Coccinelle store.

Bologna

Being the foodies that we are, we had to spend some time in the home of Bolognese sauce! Bologna is also famous for its Tortelli (Tortellini), but we didn’t have enough time to do that as well. We had intended to stay 2 nights here, but changed plans and only stayed one.

Savhotel, Bologna (5/5)

This was our favorite hotel on the trip for the amenities and general atmosphere. We felt very at home in this style of hotel as it was modern, clean and had decent sized rooms. Also, they approved a free cancellation of our 2nd night so we could change our plans and refunded everything with no penalty. Great service!

Parking was only €10/night vs others €20+. There was also a free night lot next door, but the front desk didn’t recommend it if we were worried about theft or damage since it’s not surveilled, plus you need to be out by 8 am or pay for the spot. So, we parked in the hotel garage. In the room, we had a great shower with tub (hot water, strong shower head), comfy bed & pillows (we like firm beds and fluffy pillows), and a mini fridge!

Our stay included a free buffet breakfast, which included hubby’s request for an Americano coffee, and tons and tons of different Schär gluten free bread snacks! Madeleines, croissant wafers, Nutella-style hazelnut wafers… my dreams come true… 

Gessetto ristorante la cucina Italiana (4/5)

Piazza San Martino 4/A
40126 Bologna, Italy

All we wanted was some bolognese, and unfortunately because we changed our plans, we arrived in Bologna late and planned to leave first thing the next morning. In addition, I wanted the bolognese sauce smothered on gluten free pasta so I could really enjoy it. That gave us some very limited options! Enter Gessetto: a modern spot praised for their gluten free options, serving classic bolognese.

I cannot tell you if the bolognese was super traditional or not, but I can tell you we both thought it was fantastically delicious!

Unfortunately the veal with potato dish that they listed as their specialty definitely just tasted like a steak from our own oven – nothing special. We did enjoy the veggie side, though (the cabbage with raisins), and their craft local beer was good. Also, extra points for free water, which is not common in Europe.

While I really wish we could have spent more time in Bologna, had the chance to visit Modena, and enjoy more of the region’s amazing flavors, we made the tough decision to cut this part short in order to visit Cinque Terre. And oh… it was sooo worth it! I can’t wait to share our jam-packed final day with you. Until then…

XO,

J