La Via Emilia in pasta

Six days along the Via Emilia to get hands-on with pasta and taste the products that made the Food Valley famous: Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, Lambrusco and Sangiovese. In the background, the places recognised by UNESCO: Parma, Creative City of Gastronomy, the Cathedral of Modena, the mosaics of Ravenna, Casa Artusi and the porticoes of Bologna. In the evening, the gourmet hosterias await you.

Descrizione

Day 1: Parma, UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, and anolini
In this part of Italy, many traditional Italian dishes were born: Emilia-Romagna is also known as the Food Valley. Parma and the region hold a record number of products protected by PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) marks. We begin with a guided tour of Parma's historic centre (2 hours). Then we get hands-on with pasta: in a practical workshop you learn to make anolini, the filled pasta typical of the city.

Day 2: Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma
In the morning we visit a dairy during the production of Parmigiano Reggiano PDO and finish by tasting different agings: its unique, unmistakable taste is a journey through nine centuries of history, preserving the passion for things made with care. Then we visit a prosciutto factory: the uniqueness of this territory, an extremely small area, lies in its ideal climate for natural curing, which gives Prosciutto di Parma PDO its unmistakable sweetness and flavour. Of course, we end with a tasting.

Day 3: Modena, the Cathedral, balsamic vinegar and tortellini
In the morning we visit Modena's historic centre (2 hours), with its UNESCO sites inscribed in 1997: the Cathedral, the Torre Civica (Ghirlandina) and Piazza Grande. The Cathedral, with its striking Romanesque architecture, is a masterpiece by the architect Lanfranco and the sculptor Wiligelmo. Then we enter a family-run acetaia, where Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PDO matures, is refined and ages. We have a tasting lunch, accompanied by Emilia's most precious nectar. In the afternoon, in Castelfranco Emilia, a hands-on workshop teaches us how to make tortellini, and we toast with Lambrusco. In the evening we transfer to Ravenna.

Day 4: Ravenna and its mosaics
Visiting Ravenna's UNESCO monuments, with a 2-hour guided tour of the centre, means travelling through the history of Italy, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the central centuries of the Middle Ages. They preserve stunning polychrome mosaics of the early Christian and Byzantine era, in sites dating from the 5th and 6th centuries AD, which tell of the city's artistic splendour at a crucial moment in European history.

Day 5: Forlimpopoli, home of Italian cuisine
In Forlimpopoli, on the Via Emilia between Forlì and Cesena, Pellegrino Artusi was born: the father of modern cookery and a great promoter of the Italian language, author of Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, the first Italian national cookbook. On 10 December 2025, Italian cuisine, with the nomination "Italian cuisine between sustainability and bio-cultural diversity", entered UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Among the communities that promoted the nomination is the Casa Artusi Foundation. Here we take a guided tour and a hands-on workshop making tagliatelle and cappelletti, then enjoy a tasting lunch and toast with Sangiovese.

Day 6: Bologna, the UNESCO porticoes
We close the journey in Bologna, under its porticoes: a selection of 12 porticoes that reflect the different architectural types found in the city's 62 km of arcaded walkways, the largest portico system in the world.

The participation fee includes:
_ Guided tour of Parma's centre (2 hours)
_ Hands-on anolini workshop in Parma
_ Guided tour of a Parmigiano Reggiano producer with tasting
_ Guided tour of a Prosciutto di Parma producer with tasting
_ Guided tour of Modena's centre (2 hours)
_ Guided tour of a family acetaia, producer of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, with tasting lunch
_ Hands-on tortellini workshop in Castelfranco Emilia
_ Lambrusco tasting
_ Guided tour of Ravenna's centre (2 hours)
_ Guided tour and hands-on tagliatelle and cappelletti workshop at Casa Artusi, with tasting lunch
_ Sangiovese tasting
_ 2 dinners in a gourmet hosteria
_ 2 lunches in a gourmet hosteria
_ 2 nights in Parma with breakfast
_ 3 nights in Ravenna with breakfast