Prodotti da Italia

We picked up our wheels for the rest of our Italian odyssey and headed out of the city of Bologna toward our next destination of Reggio-Emilia, a village with its origins dating from 187 BC.  This was a short stopover village on our way to our Verona.

Fiat Panda, our ride

Our little Fiat Panda was not the fastest on the road but was small and better for parking in cities and small villages.  We had a hard time hiding all our bags in the small back boot.  But we made it work.

Our first stop out of Bologna was a Lamborghini Factory Tour.  We arrived a bit early and had to walk a long way from parking our car.  We wandered around the museum and drooled over these marvelous machines that are all automobile but also handmade works of art.

Lamborghini, not our ride

The history of Ferruccio Lamborghini is very prominent as we began the tour, even though he sold the company relatively early on.  The factory floor tour was spotless and pretty quiet, except for the occasional engine purr. It was really fascinating to watch such a small group of people build a car from the all the disparate parts.  There was some robotic technology used to facilitate the process and keep the lines moving efficiently.  Each car can be personalized in every aspect to the owners preferences.  If you own a Lamborghini, you own a work of art.

We had a very lovely lunch near the factory on our way out of town.  The restaurant was filled with Lamborghini workers and locals.  The food was delicious.  Mike had wild boar steaks with pecorino which were unique and tasty.

Original cask from 1600's

Our next stop the House of Guisti Balsamic Vinegar.  It was a small villa off the side of a countryside road in Modena.  The family has been making balsamic vinegar since 1605.  We had a guided tour of their small family museum and aging attic and then a tasting of their various aged balsamic vinegar, including their 25 year aged balsamic.  They still have the original cask from the 1600's, in use in their attic.  They have since added several more, but the process of aging in the casks is strictly followed from year to year as the different casks add a variety of flavors and complexity to the balsamic over time.  It was another example of Italian craftsmanship and devotion to their family's history

We arrived late afternoon in Reggio-Emilia for a couple night stay in the area.  It was a lovely little flat within walking distance to the village.  It was a small, but quaint town with several interesting squares.  We saw very few tourists and mostly families or locals going about their business.

As we are in the land of cheese and meat as I mentioned in my earlier post,  our next full day was spent on two tours. Our first tour of the morning was to 4 Madonne Caseificia dell Emilia to tour and taste the famed Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.  The tour was very good and took us through all aspects of their production.  Near the end of the tour we were treated to the aging room to see the several hundred wheels of cheese aging in racks.  A robotic arm was carefully removing each wheel, wiping the wheel, turning it, then replacing it on the shelf.  It was fascinating to watch. Again, the Italian commitment and quality was displayed in every aspect.  We had a marvelous tasting after the tour and bought a wedge of our favorite Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Aging wheels

Say Cheese!

Robotic cheese turner

Our tasting platter.

Our next tour took us toward Parma to see how the famed Parma ham is produced and aged.  Our tour guide Luca explained about the black pigs used for Parma ham and that only hind quarters are to be used for the "Parma" ham designation.  He was very knowledgeable about all aspects of the farm where the animals are raised to the finished certified products of Parma.  The testing of the quality of the ham is still done by the historical method of a horse leg bone which is stuck into the ham and then sniffed to smell the quality of the aging. Seriously, that is old school. 

Parma Ham

Parma Ham making Mike smile.

Of course we then had to sample the tasty products with a glass of local wine from ancient white grapes of the area, Pignoletto.












Our stay in Reggio-Emilia was short, but fun-filled.  The weather was spectacular with a little hint of autumn in the air.  We walked to the morning market before departing a picked up a few local products to enjoy. 

On our way to Verona, a stop in Mantova proved to be another lovely little break for lunch and place to wander the market and village streets for a bit.

Church ceiling in Mantova

Mantova clock tower

Mantova canal

 Our first sunset in Verona.