Edible Emilia Exposed
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2027: 11–18 April
Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates This is a myth-busting tour for foodies. Think of abandoning yourself to eight days dedicated to Emilia-Romagna's iconic products: Mortadella di Bologna, Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano Reggiano, balsamic vinegar of Modena, Lambrusco wine, tortellini in brodo, tagliatelle al ragù bolognese, lasagne and many more. But, hold on! Reset your expectations. These won't be the versions you find in Italian delis near you. You'll visit the small family producers who aren't slaves to the international market. Their products radiate generations of skill and, that most precious of all commodities, time. On our slow journey where the Apennine Mountains descend to the Po Plain, you'll have the opportunity to taste 10-year-old parmigiano, pale, dry Lambrusco, mortadella without the intestines, balsamic vinegar made from grapes. Every mouthful a revelation! Really small group (maximum 7 people). Click on tabs below for more information To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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Itinerary at a glance Bologna Airport to Sasso Marconi Day 1 — Afternoon pick up at Bologna Airport and transfer to Fattoria Zivieri, accommodation for the first three nights; welcome dinner in their restaurant Day 2 — Morning at the Zivieri butcher shop and workshop to discover how mortadella is made, the difference between the Zivieri mortadella and the boloney you eat (or maybe avoid) at home and make the acquaintance of salame rosa; in the afternoon hands on lesson making the classic tortellini of Bologna Day 3 — Tour of Etruscan city of Kainua and sightseeing in Bologna Sasso Marconi to Modena Day 4 – Visit Modena's historic covered market; lunch at restaurant with only four tables; free time for sightseeing in Modena Day 5 – Visit parmigiano dairy to witness how the king of cheeses is made; first tasting of Lambrusco wine Modena to Sant'Andrea Bagni (Parma) Day 6 – On the way to Parma Province: tour and tasting of the true balsamic vinegar of Modena, lunch and second tasting of Lambrusco wine (spoiler: nothing like the first tasting); visit family that salts and matures Prosciutto di Parma. Day 7 — Visit farmers market at Parma. Free time for sightseeing at Parma. Visit 14th-century love-nest Torrechiara castle; drive through Langhirano, heart of production of Prosciutto di Parma. Dinner: classic bollito misto of Parma. Day 8 — Visit Brianti family who raise Nero di Parma pigs for tasting of their products in the maturing cellar; transfer to modern futuristic station AV Mediopadana of Reggio Emilia and Bologna airport For more details, please click itinerary tab above Highlights of tour Food & wine
Art & culture
Food & agriculture: fact & fiction
For more details, please click itinerary tab above To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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Bologna Airport to Sasso Marconi Day 1: Sunday Afternoon arrival at Bologna Airport where we’ll collect you and whisk you off to the hills of Sasso Marconi and the farm accommodation of our first myth-busting producer, Aldo Zivieri. Introduction to the tour, welcome dinner featuring the Zivieri's dry-aged beef and venison. Accommodation: Fattoria Zivieri, Sasso Marconi | Meals: Dinner Day 2: Monday Transfer to Macelleria Zivieri (fresh meat, game and salumi production centre and butcher shop) just outside Bologna. The starting point for good cured pork is a good pig. The Zivieri family own the whole line of production from their organic farm where we're staying, to their humane abattoir and the laboratory. At their lab they transform the native Mora Romagnola pig into salumi (cured pork products) including the famous Mortadella di Bologna. We're privileged to be allowed to walk through the lab to see the machines needed to make mortadella and hear about the process and why the Zivieri mortadella differs from industrial mortadella. During your tasting lunch, you’ll discover for yourself how much better the Zivieri product is than others with the same name, and you'll meet the almost unknown salame rosa. Back at the farm you have a tour of the animals and the dairy. Late afternoon we gather in the kitchen to learn to make the elastic egg pasta of Emilia and the famous ragù Bolognese. Eat what you made followed by grilled pork from the farm. Accommodation: Fattoria Zivieri, Sasso Marconi | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 3: Tuesday Even though the road in the valley below us seems like any other main thoroughfare, it's far from modern. It was in use at least since Etruscan times in the 6th century BCE, and served as one of the main corridors connecting the Po Valley and the Adriatic Sea with Tuscany and the Tyrrhenian Sea. We're going to visit an Etruscan city along this route. You can still walk along the streets between the houses, and the on-site museum houses some spectacular Etruscan remains. We stop for lunch on our way to Bologna. Then free time to sightsee until we return to Fattoria Zivieri for a quick rest before dinner at their neighbours Agriturismo Rio Verde. Accommodation: Fattoria Zivieri, Sasso Marconi | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Sasso Marconi to Modena Day 4: Wednesday Today we move from the farm to the city of Modena. After checking in at our elegant B&B, we hurry to the historic Mercato Albinelli to feast our eyes on the vast array of stalls selling fruit & vegetables, meat & fish, cheese, bread, pastries, wine & liqueurs. By now we're hungry enough to appreciate lunch at Hosteria Giusti, a tiny restaurant with only four tables run by a sister and brother team. People in the know say it’s better than the famous Michelin-starred restaurant in Modena, La Francescana. You be the judge. Free afternoon to enjoy the city, small enough to walk everywhere. Dinner on your own (if you manage to get hungry again) or a gelato at Gelateria Bloom might be the perfect supper. Accommodation: Salotto delle Arti, Modena | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Day 5: Thursday Off to an early start for a revelatory morning at a parmigiano dairy. With the head cheesemaker you'll watch all the steps in the transformation of the organic milk of the White Cow of Modena into Parmigiano Reggiano. Then we transfer to the tasting rooms of Caseificio Santa Rita Bio for a horizontal tasting of parmigiano made with the milk of Friesian cows (the black & white milk machines) versus the local White Cow of Modena and a vertical tasting of parmigiano of different ages up to 10 years old. On our way back to Modena we stop for a private tour and tasting at the vineyard Fattoria Moretto which last year attained the prestigious Tre Bicchieri (3 glasses) from the Gambero Rosso guide for its Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Monovitigno 2023, a sparkling red wine redolent of ripe berries with a hint of the forest floor (as wine sommeliers would say). Dinner in Modena at Da Danilo, a favourite of Benedetta, the hostess at our B&B. Accommodation: Salotto delle Arti, Modena | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Modena to Sant'Andrea Bagni (Parma) Day 6: Friday Pack your bags for the final lap of this myth-busting tour. Just north of Modena is the Acetaia del Cristo which makes a type of balsamic vinegar which you probably have never tasted. It's the original Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP. Quite a mouthful to pronounce but well worth learning to recognise. During your private tour which takes you from the vineyard to the barrels in the attic to the tasting room, you'll find out how different it is from the sweet brown liquid you drown your salad in. Only five minutes away is the Cantina Paltrinieri which makes a totally different Lambrusco from the one you tasted yesterday. The Paltrinieri family have also been awarded the Tre Bicchieri for their Leclisse 2023, a dry, pale pink sparkling wine. You'll tour the cellar, find out how they make Lambrusco and taste several of their wines paired with a tasting lunch. With our palettes tingling from so many good liquids, we progress to a family which produces Prosciutto di Parma DOP. You see the salting room, the prosciutto shower, various drying rooms and the maturing floor. Now you understand the care and time that goes into producing the prosciutto that has conquered the world. We end the day at Hotel Salus in Sant'Andrea Bagni where we stay until the end of the tour. Dinner across the road at an excellent pizzeria. Accommodation: Hotel Salus | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 7: Saturday We first meet the Brianti family at a farmer’s market in Parma. The Brianti’s produce typical salumi of Parma from the meat of their Nero di Parma pigs. You’ll spend the morning with them on Sunday. Today you get to meet a treasure trove of local farmers who come to the Saturday market with their vegetables, fruit, cheese, eggs, wine, honey, bread and other typical produce of Parma. If it's fine weather, you’ll find all the ingredients for a picnic here, and we'll walk to the park of the 16th-century Ducal Palace. If it's cold or rainy, we'll take you into the centre of Parma to find a lunch place and see the city. Where Parma River plain butts up against the Apennines, the stunning Castle of Torrechiara stands as the physical embodiment of a love story from the days of the cavallieri. Count Pier Maria Rossi constructed it in the 15th century to have a place where he could escape with his mistress and love of his life Bianca Pellegrini. Visiting the castle you can almost believe you’ve been transported to the Middle Ages. Just down the road we’re jolted back to the 21st century. We drive through Langhirano where almost every building houses thousands of prosciuttos awaiting the final check by the ‘prosciutto police’ who will brand them Prosciutto di Parma DOP. Dinner at La Maison, one of the best traditional restaurants in the territory (despite its French name). Accommodation: Hotel Salus | Meals: Breakfast, Dinner Day 8: Sunday Our last day behind the scenes in Emilia. We head up the hill to the Brianti farm. where the Brianti's tell us how an extinct breed of pig was brought back to life. We tour the farm and watch as they show us how to shape a prosciutto. We have a tasting lunch in the cellar in a forest of hanging salumi maturing to exactly the right point for eating. Transfer to the modern futuristic station AV Mediopadana of Reggio Emilia, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, for high-speed trains (arrival at about 3 pm) and to Bologna Airport (arrival at about 4 pm). Meals: Breakfast, lunch To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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Simone RomeiThe guide and driver for this tour is Simone Romei. He has been my driver and right-hand man on many Sapori & Saperi tours and courses over the last four years. He also designs and guides his own tours. He's interested in food and history (and football). Having done our Advanced Salumi Course Bologna-Parma and a version of this tour in 2025, he's already friends with all our producers and accommodation owners. Best of all, he's great fun to spend time with.
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Fattoria Zivieri (Sasso Marconi) Charming accommodation at the Zivieri family farm. Furniture made of wood at the carpentry workshop on the farm. Sheets and towels of linen and views of the verdant countryside from the bedroom windows. On-site restaurant uses fresh produce from the farm, especially their own meat and cheese, to produce cuisine with a modern twist. |
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Salotto delle Arti (Modena) Benedetta was looking for an apartment for herself after graduating from university. She fell in love with this way too expensive piano nobile in Palazzo Montagnani decorated with 18th-century frescos. In order to afford it, she turned it into an elegant B&B furnished with precious objects from her grandparents, her parents and her mother-in-law. Her buffet breakfast is simply too indulgent. |
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Price Per person: xxxx Euros (coming soon) Single supplement: none (single room included in fee) Includes Friendly knowledgeable English-speaking guide throughout your stay 7 nights welcoming, relaxing accommodation, en suite bathrooms Local ground transportation for 8 days (includes one group transfer between meeting point and accommodation and one return after the tour). Please check with us before you book your travel to make sure it fits the tour schedule. Transfers at times other than those provided for the group will be at your own expense. Daily continental breakfast, 6 lunches, 6 dinners Guided visits and workshops with artisans, entrance fees Does not include Airfares Travel and cancellation insurance (compulsory) Wine and drinks other than those served with meals, additional meals Personal expenses Meeting point Bologna Airport If you are flying from outside Europe, we suggest you arrive a couple of days early to recover from jet lag so you can fully enjoy your time with us. We are happy to advise about where to stay and eat and what to do before and after your tour. Departure point Transport will be provided to AV Mediopadana of Reggio Emilia train station (arrival at about 3 pm) and to Bologna Airport (arrival at about 4 pm). When booking your departure, allow time to get to your train platform or at the airport time to check in and clear security. If you need to travel earlier, a taxi can be arranged at your own expense. Diet Most dietary requirements can be accommodated as long as you tell us in advance. There is a space on the Booking Form for this information. Please bear in mind that the tour focuses on the art of choosing and eating good food and that several of the products we highlight are meat. If your diet is very restricted, you may not get full enjoyment from it. Physical fitness There will be a fair amount of walking on this tour. You must be fit enough not to hold up your fellow travellers. Dress Informal. Jeans or smart trousers are acceptable everywhere. Good walking shoes required for farm visits. Weather in April Weather is no longer average, but here’s what the statistics say: Temperature: 8–17˚C / 46–63˚F Precipitation: 70 mm / 2.8 in The itinerary is subject to change if necessary due to weather or agricultural conditions or other events outside our control. To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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