Emilia-Romagna, Italy: How to Dive into this Cultural Paradise Right from Home!
Take a Bite of Emilia-Romagna with our Epicurean Vagabonds Armchair Tour
For many years we taught a college class called “The Art of Wine.” The purpose of the class was to focus in on a specific region of the world and examine the connections between the wine, cuisine, music, art, literature and culture that all hailed from that unique location. In doing so, we focused in on the role that geography and “terroir” play upon wine, food and artist alike.
With this lens in mind, we’ve curated an exploration of the very rich region of Emilia-Romagna just for you! We hope it will offer up a bite-sized taste of what we did in our Art of Wine classes and give you a chance to sit back and travel to another place and time.
Wine:
Start by cracking open a beautiful bottle of bubbly Lambrusco, Emilia-Romagna’s signature dark-red sparkling wine.
Two of our favorite bottles:
Your local wine shop or supermarket is very likely to have an affordable bottle of Lambrusco. If you’re on a budget (and living in the U.S.), even Trader Joe’s currently sells Le Grotte Reggiano, Lambrusco Dolce for just $5 a bottle!
Next, if you plan on cooking any of the heartier dishes below, you’ll need a bottle (or two!) of Sangiovese (aka “the blood of Jupiter”). For our Art of Wine class, we paired the pasta with a glass of Podere La Berta, Sangiovese di Romagna.
Food:
Here’s everything you need for a perfect charcuterie plate inspired by the flavors of Emilia-Romagna:
Aged Balsamic Vinegar from Modena (with Olive Oil and Fresh Bread)
[Photo by CA Creative on Unsplash] 
[Sun Taro, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons] Parmigiano Reggiano (preferably aged)
[Peachyeung316, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons] 
[Stefano Brush Parisi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons]
If you’re feeling more ambitious, why not try cooking one of Emilia-Romagna’s famous pasta dishes? Let’s start with one of our favorites: Tortellini in Brodo! And there’s no better inspiration than our new favorite Youtube channel - Pasta Grannies - which just might have the most charming and wholesome content on the internet. Here’s 97-year-old Albertina from Bologna showing us how she makes her Tortellini in Brodo:
The Pasta Grannies also have cookbooks!
Then there’s legendary chef Marcella Hazan (who we previously discussed on our podcast here), herself a native of Emilia-Romagna. Here’s her recipe for Il Brodo and her recipe for Tortellini with Meat and Cheese Filling.
Another of Ryan Wildstar’s favorite dishes to cook is Tagliatelle al Ragù alla Bolognese, and you can find Marcella Hazan’s recipe here.
Or just purchase the new 30th anniversary edition of her classic cookbook and pick a pasta recipe that suits your fancy!
Music:
Now you need some music while you drink your Lambrusco, assemble your charcuterie plate and/or cook your pasta! If you prefer something instrumental, check out this gorgeous recording of concerti grossi by Arcangelo Corelli (born in Fusignano and trained in Bologna):
Or if you prefer a little grand opera, you can’t beat Modena-born Luciano Pavarotti singing the music of Giuseppe Verdi (born in Busseto)!
Visual Art:
At one point the Bolognese School of Painting made Bologna one of the most significant cultural and artistic centers in Italy. Bologna was also a unique haven for women artists, as the University of Bologna was one of the first universities in history to allow female students and female lecturers (as early as the 13th century!). In the 17th century, an entire school for women artists was founded, which became the first European art school for women outside a convent!
One of our favorite painters from this period is Lavinia Fontana (1552 – 1614), born in Bologna, who is believed to be the first known professional woman artist in Western European history. She managed to have an incredibly successful career as a painter while raising her 11 children! Below is a short introduction to her life, followed by a beautiful slideshow of her paintings:
Another painter we adore is Parmigianino (1503-1540), whose name literally means “the little one from Parma.” In his short life, Parmigianino was an influential and prolific artist who was “celebrated as a Raphael reborn.” Fascinated with magic and alchemy, he was especially interested in the chemical process of etching, later designing chiaroscuro woodcuts that would influence Italian printmaking. But he is most well-known for his lush, innovative and anatomically unconventional figurative oil paintings, which your eyes can now feast upon in the slideshow here:
Also, you MUST check out the incredible 360-degree virtual tours of cathedrals and museums created by Marco Stucchi. They have to be seen to be believed! He takes you there. Check these out:
Emilia-Romagna Deep Dives:
If you’d like to do a serious deep dive, check out this page at the Official Tourism Blog of Emilia-Romagna, for an incredible list of virtual experiences exploring the region! There are virtual tours of museums and churches, Spotify playlists, streaming operas and concerts and music festivals, virtual hiking tours, audio guides and a host of other resources. Cinephiles can see an exhibition from the Federico Felllini museum. Car lovers can check out the Museums of Motor Valley (Ducati, Lamborghini, Enzo Ferrari). There’s literally something for everyone!
We hope you enjoyed our little slice of Emilia-Romagna. Stay tuned for more Epicurean Vagabonds Armchair Tours to come!
YUMMMM! I've never tried a sparkling dark red and Tagliatelle al Ragù alla Bolognese is a favorite.