Italian Immersion in Emilia Romagne Province of Italy

This is the view from our window of Borgo Degli Ulivi Bed and Breakfast
see all photos »

Emilia Romagna Province (principally Bologna) - September 11 – 15^th, 2006

It’s been a while since we’ve updated our travelblog, and that is primarily because we have found that internet access is not as easy or as cheap in Italy. However, it is time to record some of our impressions and memories of our sojourn in Italy.

One has the luxury of going only as far as the next interesting place.

We left Venice on September 11^th not knowing exactly where our next destination was. That, we have found, is definitely one of the beauties and advantages of traveling over an extended period of time. One doesn’t have the pressure of having to see ‘everything’ in 3 or 4 weeks. One has the luxury of going only as far as the next interesting place.

Madam Marisa Barbieri Giuliani and her granddaughter Julia in their attic where the balsamic vinegar is made
see all photos »

Where we ended up that day was in Bologna. Bologna is known for its red buildings and porticoed sidewalks. It will remain known to us for issuing us with a parking ticket for a violation we didn’t know we committed; parking (we even paid!) in a Settore 4 area. We found out later that Bologna has tried to deal with its horrendous parking problems by giving parking privileges to only certain people. If you don’t fulfill the criteria for Settore (sector) 3 or 4 or whatever…don’t park there! The problem is that dumb tourists like us who don’t understand the language or the system, and who think they are parking legally, aren’t. Anyways…if you go to visit Bologna, take the train in!

David standing beside one of the many F1 racecars inside the Ferrari Museum
see all photos »

What redeemed the day (and the stay) for us was finding Borgo delgi Ulivi (www.borgodegliulvi.it) Bed and Breakfast. It has become our Tuscan-villa experience even though it was not in Tuscany, but in Emilia Romagna. Angela Fini was the exemplary hostess and treated us so royally that she was in danger of having us stay forever!

Two events that particularly stand out in our minds are the tour of the Ferrari museum and our visit to Madam Marisa Barbieri Giuliana, who together with her granddaughter, Julia, explained to us the intricacies of making the best balsamic vinegar. Madam Marisa lives in Modena, and it is here in this region that practically all the balsamic vinegar consumed in the entire world is produced! Angela Fini arranged the tour for us and we drove to Modena expecting to see a balsamic vinegar-producing factory. Instead, we were led three stories up into the attic of Madam Marisa’s house. There we saw a treasure that has been in Madam Marisa’s family since the time of her great-grandfather from the early 1800’s. He, in turn, had inherited the production from a count who had it in his family for over a century.

A Ferrari F1 racecar undergoing testing at the Fiorano test track
see all photos »

The best balsamic vinegar is thick and creamy and delicious and is over 50 years old. It comes from the smallest barrel of a ‘set’ of 5 barrels. Once per year, 2 cups of balsamic vinegar is moved from each barrel to the next, starting from the largest barrel to the smallest. As it ages the grape juice concentrate ferments and turns it into this delectable vinegar. It was an unforgettable experience to learn about and sample balsamic vinegar from Madam Marisa and Julia! We will never look at a bottle of the beautiful condiment again with out thinking of them in Modena!

Barb with Angela Fini, our hostess at Borgo Degli Ulivi
see all photos »

The visit to the Ferrari Museum in Maranello was also memorable in that we saw the history of Ferrari through the collected racing and road cars that were assembled there. There were several recent Formula 1 racing cars and others from the 50’s in addition to the numerous road cars from past and from recent history. It is amazing to see how one man’s (Enzo Ferrari) passion for automobile racing has resulted in the Ferrari name being synonymous with high performance automobiles the world over. Even though the cars are mere mechanical pieces, they are also modern works of art that are comparable to any other sculpture being produced today. They can be appreciated in person as much as a fine painting. Another point of interest to any car enthusiast is the Fiorano test track just down the road from the museum; on any given test day, one can experience the fury of Ferrari Formula 1 race cars undergoing testing. The roar of the car as it speeds by is unforgettable.

Finally, one more event that truly was a ‘backdoor’ cultural event for us was a wine tasting evening that Angela took us to one dark and rainy evening. Even though David and I are quite ignorant of what criteria make up a good wine, we enjoyed this evening in the beautiful ancient villa in the hills of Bologna immensely. It made it even more special knowing that we were almost certainly the only tourists in that villa that evening!