May, 2024
Bologna Road Trip #2
Our second road trip from Bologna took us up north to Piemonte for some wine tasting. As always, there were surprises along the way!
Parma
We had to stop in Parma on the way because, well, Prosciutto and Parmigiano Reggiano of course! But we discovered this town is actually much more than its cheese and ham claim to fame.
The big question is can Leo fix the world!
The Parma cathedral is a Romanesque masterpiece dating back to the 11th century. It took nearly 100 years to build but there were lots of updates and additions to the interior along the way. The most famous part of this cathedral was created by Correggio in the 1520s. It depicts the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, not to be confused with the ascension of her well-known son. Jesus ascended to heaven by his own divine power. Mary didn’t have such power so she was “called” to heaven by God. She was Jesus’ mom after all. Elevated in a swirling vortex of angels and clouds this artwork is considered to be one of the first truly “3D” illusionistic domes. Mary is to the left of the dark dot near the centre of the dome, surrounded by angels and the regular cast of biblical characters. She’s the biggest figure in a pale pink robe with a blue mantle gazing up toward the figure in the middle of it all, Jesus. He’s ready to receive his mother into her heavenly home…hope he cleaned up before she got there.
While Correggio’s dome is the main draw in the cathedral, the classic biblical stories on the side aisles by Lattanzio Gambara draw the art students.
Like Parma’s cathedral, its baptistery is also considered to be one of the most important medieval monuments in Italy. Started in 1196, it’s the place of Christian rebirth and eternity. Get baptized and you’ve got your golden ticket to salvation. Full of amazing frescoes and reliefs depicting the life of Christ and his band of merry men, it would be an inspiration to all who got dipped in the baptismal font. Interestingly, around the bottom are zodiac reliefs showing the trials of every month of the year, marking time and seasons. You’d think that the zodiac would lean a little to paganism and superstition and would have no place in a Christian space devoted to an unyielding belief in the power of God but not so! The stars, sun and moon were all part of God’s celestial clockwork. They were not about fate but rather God’s instructions written in the sky.
There is so much to be learned in a cheese shop where the staff live and breathe their product. Parma is the land of Parmigiano Reggiano (and prosciutto di Parma). First clue is in the name.
I knew that Parmigiano Reggiano is aged and the price varies based on the amount of time spent aging. What I didn’t know is there is a seasonality to buying the best cheese. Right now, as we launch into summer, the best Parmigiano Reggiano to eat is the one aged 24 months. Why? You’d think the older cheese would be the one recommended. But no! The cows milked 24 months ago were eating the freshest, green grass which results in the best tasting milk. So in summer, buy the 24-month aged cheese. In the winter, buy the 30-month aged cheese, because that would have been produced 2.5 years ago with the summer milk.
We bought some cheese to eat now and some more to take to our next destination. The cheesemonger switched from Italian to English to make sure we understood exactly how he was wrapping the cheese and how we needed to rewrap it once we opened it. And where in the fridge we should store it (the bottom shelf just above the vegetable drawer). That’s passion.
Our parking lot picnic stop with the spoils from our trip to the cheese shop in Parma. Suddenly, Gilly got up and walked away. We figured she went for gelato as she is wont to do at the drop of a hat…
…but no, she went hunting for take out Aperol Spritz!
Piemonte
Our final destination and home for a couple of days was the wonderful Braida Wines! Giuliana is the ultimate host and wine tasting guide. She is full of stories about this amazing, world-class winery and all the wines they produce. Up here, it’s all about Barbera and Giuseppe “Beppe” Bologna believed, deep down, that Barbera could be much more than a rustic table wine. He took over his father’s vineyard in the 1960s and set about shaking up the Barbera world. He was successful and their signature Bricco dell’Uccellone launched Barbera and Braida onto the world wine stage.
In case you didn’t notice the bottle in Giuliana’s hands, here it is. Go look for it…you won’t be disappointed.
Thankfully it was not a glass of Bricco that I spilled onto my and Gilly’s white jeans but sadly it was a glass of red. In my defence, I was defending women and making use of my newfound Italian hand gestures.
The view from our room at Braida.
Until next time Giuliana…
Asti-ish
Next on our foodie journey was lunch at Ca’ Vittoria in the one-horse town of Tigliole d’Asti, population 1,728. Only in Europe do you find a Michelin-starred restaurant in such a small place!
Our meal. Spectacular!
Our view. Spectacular!
We were invited to a Scottish party at Marco’s country home near Asti! Marco is a show producer and has had a fascination with Scotland since he was a little boy. He (second from left) and a couple of his friends (the other two kilts in the photo) were at our Braida wine tasting and insisted we come to his 28th annual Scottish party the next day. We thought we had hit party pay dirt! As you’ll see, not quite the sophisticated, Euro-chic gathering we expected but still tons of fun.
Men wearing kilts abound but someone should really teach men how to sit in a skirt. Clearly, the woman beside him has it mastered. Europe has very strict privacy laws, hence the redo of this kilt-fail’s face.
Marco usually has a bagpiper but this year he brought in a harpist…
And then the Scottish games began! No Scottish party would be complete without the famous caber toss. In case you’ve never witnessed this, the goal is to carry a very heavy 20 foot pole, run with it, and give it a good toss so that it flips end over end and lands at 12 o’clock. This attempt was a bit shy on height and didn’t manage to flip…
Next up, the ever-classic potato sack race. I did my best but one of the 20-somethings beat me to the finish line.
On our way back to Braida after our full Scottish experience, we stopped in the beautiful Monforte d’Alba. Who knew we’d land in the middle of the 15th Raduno Alpini in Langa celebrating the heritage and values of the Alpini, Italy’s elite mountain infantry corps. The hats and the music and the dancing, oh my!
We started our return trip to Bologna with a tasting at Michele Chiarlo, known for high quality Piemonte wines. This was our lineup. Excellent wines! And the cheese was so amazing that we drove half an hour out of our way to buy some. Formaggio Montebore from Borgo Affinatori.
Mighty big barrels at Michele Chiarlo…over 5,000 litres of wine in these. They are so big that they actually build them in the room!
Recco
Next stop, Recco, along the Ligurian Coast. We booked lunch at 2pm and didn't get there till 3pm, but they still gave us a table (restaurant closed at 3). I hopped out of the car to beg for the table while Gilly and Laurie went to look for parking.
Parking proved to be a difficult task as we landed upon another festival! It was La Festa della Focaccia di Recco. Recco is known for its particular riff on focaccia.
This is the focaccia, definitely festival worthy! Two super thin layers of unleavened dough filled with stracchino.
Lunch in Recco at the table the restaurant kindly saved for us. Can’t beat the view!
We managed to squeeze in a beachside gelato before leaving to return to Bologna…tomorrow’s a school day!