Emilia Romagna, experience the land of flavours

Twenty-four specific museums located throughout the area reveal the history, people and production techniques behind typical local produce. You can visit them all or make selections based on your favourite products, such as the Museum of Parmesan Cheese, Parma Ham, Cervia Salt, Fossa Cheese, Tomato and Pasta. The inauguration of the new Borgotaro Mushroom Museum is scheduled in 2021 in Borgo Val di Taro, in the province of Parma - the city with the most products of food excellence inscribed as a Creative City of Gastronomy by UNESCO. 

Get your hands literally into the dough and learn the secrets of local cuisine: three courses are organized at Casa Artusi, in Forlimpopoli, the birthplace of Pellegrino Artusi, considered the father of Italian home cuisine as the author of a famous book of traditional recipes. Here, the "Mariette", women expert in this art, will teach you how to make local piadina and fresh egg pasta kneaded by hand and then worked with a rolling pin. After the lessons, you can enjoy lunch in the restaurant specializing in regional cuisine: we advise you precisely to try the fresh pasta. The Artusian Festival is held here in August, with theme-based events, exhibitions and shows.

Dairies, ham makers and vinegar producers organize guided tours illustrating the various stages in the entire production process from the initial ingredients to the final product. These visits inevitably end with tastings of fresh produce, which can also be purchased from company outlets. You can book a visit to companies taking part in this project at any time of year, or join those organized during the theme-based events at the end of summer, such as Acetaie Aperte, Caseifici Aperti and the Prosciutto di Parma Festival.

In the cellars of the Rocca Sforzesca in Dozza - one of the most beautiful villages in Italy - which houses the headquarters of the Enoteca Regionale dell'Emilia Romagna, you can visit a permanent exhibition of more than a thousand wines, distillates and balsamic vinegars. The route is laid out according to their best pairing with various recipes, starting with the aperitif and ending with dessert, discovering their production areas such as the Colli Piacentini and Bolognese hills, the lands of Lambrusco and those of Sangiovese. Each label can be tasted and purchased in the in-house wine bar, where meetings with producers are also periodically organised.

There is an itinerary between nature and castles along the River Po from Parma to Colorno, which can also be enjoyed by bicycle, that leads to places where the highly-prized and traditional Culatello di Zibello delicatessen meat is made. The heart of the itinerary is the historic village of Polesine Parmense. Here, the Antica Corte Pallavicina restaurant is also home to the Culatello and Masalén Museum that explains the tradition and the precise tasting ritual staged in XIV-century ageing cellars. The event of course ends with a final tasting for visitors, who can also visit the free range breeding annex of the ancient and highly prized Parma Black Pig.