Heaven. I’m in heaven. And my heart beats so that I can hardly eat any more pasta…
Yes! I’m back in Emilia-Romagna, my favorite eatin’ region in all of Italy!
But this trip has an extra spin: fine cars for us to drive! The great Po Valley, home to Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Prosciutto di Parma, is also known as Motor Valley…home to Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ducati, etc. The ancient Romans built the great road Via Emilia in this region, so Roman soldiers could easily march through…and the modern Italians have seconded the motion, building great machines here for other kinds of roamin’ travelers!
The Romans also began the tradition here of monumental fortresses, and castles…many of which, from many ages, dot the countryside today, offering irresistible overnight opportunities to travelers.
My bedroom at the castle of Vigoleno, near Piacenza
The antique cars we will drive arrive at Vigoleno
Two classic numbers, an Alfa Romeo and a Fiat, from the 1960s, provided by Terre di Canossa, a superb company that makes touring with antique cars possible
Me in a 1962 Alfa Romeo, ready to zoom off (after winery visit…I’m not driving!)
And it’s a good thing I wasn’t! Our whole writers’ group was busted by four Italian sergeants on the Via Emilia! Actually, it was a passport check and inspection…but they looked pretty scary at first! Things warmed up considerably after that! In any case…it provided an unexpected motor-related element to the trip!
Throughout the glorious living buffet that is Emilia, we feasted on all the greatest hits:
SALUMI
This is the best area in Italy for salumi!
Mortadella (at 7 o’clock on the plate) from the only remaining artigianale mortadella-maker in Bologna, Pasquini and Bausiani
Oh my, do they take their mortadella seriously in Bologna!
The specialty of Piacenza, coppa…this one is two years old, cut fairly thick, but still crazy-tender and wonderful
Gianfranco Paganelli , chef-owner of an insane, little-known restaurant in the mountains above Piacenza: Antica Trattoria Paganelli. The dude has salumi hanging everywhere (like the amazing coppa above), and he just keeps bringin’ it, and bringin’ it…followed by multiple pastas, and multiple meat dishes. So hearty. So real! So filling! Most amazing of all: it feels like you’re in his living room, down to 90-year-old mama sitting at the kitchen table watching car races on TV. Mama Mia!
PASTA
And of course…
The iconic dish of Bologna, tortellini in brodo, with a golden spoon, at the great Caminetto d’Oro Trattoria in Bologna
Another soulful version, this one made at the wonderful 1930s-era Biagi, in Bologna (both brodos, as they should, use capon in the broth)
There is a maze of stuffed pastas in Emilia, with a confusing array of names (because they change with the place); this one, also at Biagi in Bologna, is tortelloni, stuffed with cheese, glistened with butter
The classic oven-baked lasagna, in Bologna
They also love their fresh pasta ribbons here, like this perfect taglioni con ragù, at Pozzo, in Reggio Emilia. NOTE: They hate the world-wide habit of naming a dish like this “spaghetti Bolognese!” Noooooo! In the region from which this meat sauce springs, the pasta dish is always called “con ragù!”
Also at Pozzo, which is one flight down in the cellar…they take their wine very seriously! This is the sign at the top of the stairs…I’ll let you translate!
My favorite wine to drink with food in Emilia…Lambrusco!
My favorite winery in the Piacenza area, La Stoppa…served here with coppa, of course! Lucky us…La Stoppa wines are some of the only Piacenza wines available in the U.S.
After we had our fill of the northern/western part of the region (Emilia), we moved on to the southern/eastern part of the region, on the Adriatic coast (Romagna). There is a decidedly more southern, more Mediterranean type of feel in Romagna…well expressed by the artisans of Faenza, who can deviate from tradition in fabulously creative ways:
This wacky Faenza shop features a ceramic head outside!
Porcupines, Faenza-style
Legs…
…and breasts!
I’d call it all Fellini-esque, if that were not too easy. Our last stop, the seaside town of Rimini, just a few minutes from Faenza…is the birthplace of…guess who?…Fellini! And the setting of Amarcord! Settle into the sumptuous Grand Hotel…and enjoy La Dolce Vita!
