Here you can find our Gastronomic Tours!

Bologna and the Mercato di Mezzo

Walking under the two great arches of the spectacular facade of Palazzo dei Banchi designed by the celebrated architect Giacomo Barozzi (il Vignola), we enter that fascinating area known as the “Mercato di mezzo”, a network of narrow streets almost all of which bear the names of the type of craftsmen or shopkeepers to be found there (Drapperie (drapers’ shops), Degli Orefici (goldsmiths), Clavature (locksmiths),  Pescherie Vecchie (fishmongers in the old fish market)).

These narrow streets are a wonderful sight and a joy for the palate: a riot of brightly coloured vegetables, fresh fruit and also different kinds of rarely seen and long forgotten fruit.

The shop windows are a fantastic display of our  local gastronomic specialities: from pasta (tortellini, lasagne, tagliatelle, tortelloni with ricotta and vegetables), to every imaginable type of salame and sausage (especially mortadella) and the different  prime cuts which compose our traditionally delicious dish of boiled meats.

Our tour will take us to various different shops where we’ll become familiar with the best quality products and fresh hand made pasta. Of course we’ll also be able to try some local specialities, such as parmesan cheese or balsamic vinegar.

On request we can finish off the morning with lunch at one of Bologna’s typical restaurants.

The Wine and Dine Route “Cities Castles Cherries” in the hills between  Bologna and Modena: wine cellars, truffles and small cheese producers

The area between Modena a Bologna is a real treasure trove of typical products and there is also a great variety of wine producers.

The abbey of Monteveglio, the fortresses of  Bazzano and Vignola and the modern art collection of Cà la Ghironda offer exceptional cultural opportunities on any  tour; for lovers of gastronomy there is a vast choice from the wines of the numerous different sized producers of the “Colli Bolognesi”, the producers of cow’s milk and goat’s milk cheese, salame producers, to the old restored mill which works at weekends, cherries in springtime, truffles and chestnuts in season.

This tour can be tailored to suit the participants’ individual requests and interests.

Between Modena and Parma: Parmesan cheese, Parma ham and balsamic vinegar

We’ll make an early morning start by car to visit a producer of Parmesan cheese and discover all the stages of its production, from the arrival of the milk to the creation of the cheese itself. At the end of the visit we’ll be able to sample their products.

The tour continues with a visit to a ham producer near Langhirano, where we’ll be able to see the complete process that the leg of pork undergoes from its arrival through all the various stages of maturing which we’ll be able to assess during the visit.

After the visit we’ll be able to enjoy a hearty, traditional lunch, with homemade pasta specialities from Parma and all the company’s products.

After lunch we’ll visit  a celebrated old producer of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar, with a guided tasting of the different vintages in the impressive historic cellar.

Or you can choose of visiting the magnificent small town of Parma and its rich artistic treasures, or a local producer of Lambrusco wine.

The province of Parma and its ham, castles and small towns

We’ll make an early start to visit one of the castles near Parma and also one of the producers of the famous Felino salame, where we’ll be able to try some of their products.

The tour continues with a visit to a ham producer near Langhirano, where we’ll be able to see the complete process that the leg of pork undergoes from its arrival through all the various stages of maturing which we’ll be able to assess during the visit.

After the visit we’ll be able to enjoy a hearty traditional lunch, with homemade pasta specialities from Parma and all the company’s products.

In the afternoon there’ll either be a choice of visiting Parma, the Royal Palace at Colorno or one of the other magnificent castles in the area.

The province of Bologna: Dozza, the Regional Wine Cellars, the cellars, chocolate.

(half day or on request full day)

A morning departure for Dozza, a small hill town which is dominated by a fascinating ancient  fortress. The town’s  outstanding feature is that the walls of the houses are decorated with paintings by artists from all over the world. After our visit we’ll make a short stop at the Emilia Romagna Regional Wine Cellars where we’ll be able to taste some of the local wines and on request also sample some of the local products,.

There are two alternatives for lunch:

Visit to a well known wine producer to see their large cellars and try their excellent wines and homemade pasta.

Visit to an important company which also produces sugar free chocolate. At their company restaurant we’ll be able to enjoy a wonderful lunch with a menu based on chocolate and local products.

For those who want to continue in the afternoon, there’s the opportunity to visit a local producer of dairy products and the company that was not chosen for lunch, and to sample some of their products.

Motors

For history and motor sport enthusiasts, we have a tour to Motor Valley that shouldn’t be missed, where both high-powered cars and motor cycles are manufactured.

There is a long tradition of motor sports In Emilia Romagna, where we can find car manufacturers such as  Ferrari,  Lamborghini,  Maserati,  Dallara,  Pagani,  Zonda and also Ducati, for diehard bikers.

We’ll be able to visit some of these companies’ museums. Some others are private collections which only open to the public on request.

Of course these visits can also be accompanied by  different types of tastings especially of balsamic vinegar, according to the area.

Romagna

Romagna is a world apart, split between land and sea, and has excellent products of every kind.

The first thing that comes to mind is the piadina, and also fish and homemade pasta eaten in excellent family run restaurants, olive oil from Brisighella, formaggio di fossa (cheese matured in pits), raviggiolo cheese, sea salt from Cervia, the local shallots and many different types of long forgotten fruit from Casola Valsenio.

The best of the wines is Sangiovese and there’s also Pagadebit, Trebbiano and Bursòn.

The tour can can be tailored to suit individual requests and interests of the participants who can choose between land and sea.

Ferrara, eels, bread, chocolate

We’ll begin the day with a visit to  the small town of Comacchio and its typical bridges and canals.

We’ll continue with lunch in a typical local restaurant to try eel with its strong salty flavour and other local specialities such as tortelli, salama da sugo and pampepato. The Ferrara area is also famous for its bread, known as "ciupeta" in dialect

We’ll then move on to the delightful medieval town of Ferrara, where we’ll visit the castle and  the maze of narrow streets and end the day trying the chocolate at the well known Offelleria Rizzati.

Chocolate

Bologna also has an ancient tradition linked to chocolate.

The largest chocolate producer is Majani, founded in 1796 and renowned all over the world for their invention of Fiat chocolates at the start of the 20th century and later of a type of chocolate known as Scorza, which resembles the bark of a tree. In the last few years they have also created chocolate tortellini … We’ll visit their historic shop and will be able to try some of their specialities.

The main producer of excellent handmade chocolate is Roccati, who create absolutely anything with chocolate, from greetings cards and layered squares of chocolate to their enormous half spheres of hazelnut chocolate, but their pièce de résistance are their unbeatable truffles!

On request we can finish our tour with a visit to Castelguelfo, a small town near  Bologna, for lunch or dinner with chocolate based recipes at the Osteria del Cioccolato…