We’ll start our Emilian adventure in the beautiful city of Parma. Easy to discover on foot and full of fabulous food and fashion shops as well as impressive cultural landmarks.
We’ll take day trips to visit producers of Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano Reggiano and enjoy a tasting and lunch with the winemaker at a very special winery in the nearby hills.
In Modena we'll discover what makes Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena so special with a tour and tasting at the last acetaia within the city area in a 4th-generation family villa.
Travelling east, the second half of our tour is in Romagna. Here we'll enjoy Adriatic seafood and visit the town of San Leo, high on an impenetrable rock, to lunch on local pasta specialties.
We’ll visit Ravenna's splendid Byzantine mosaics. Instead of painted frescoes, the domes and walls of its basilicas sparkle with vivid images composed of millions of tiny tiles.
Further north, Comacchio on the Po Delta is built on canals like a mini-Venice! We'll explore the wetlands with local guides and enjoy eel and other seafood from the lagoon.
At Casa Artusi, an institution named for Pellegrino Artusi ‘the father of Italian home cookery’, we’ll learn to make piadina, the local flatbread, and traditional fresh egg pasta.
Our tour ends in Bologna, where we’ll explore one of Italy’s most extensive food markets for final souvenir shopping and to lunch in an ancient deli in the market's cobbled streets.
“The people of Emilia-Romagna eat more, care more and talk more about food than anyone else in Italy,” says food writer Claudia Roden.
Emilia-Romagna is called Italy’s ‘Food Valley’ because of its wide variety of world-class food and diverse culinary traditions.
Did you know it has more foods with protected designations (PDO and PGI) than any other Italian region?
This small-group Italian food and wine tour is your opportunity to discover all these and more.
We’ll visit producers of Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, and Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena for tours and tastings.
And enjoy lesser-known regional smallgoods, cheeses, seafood, pastas, and breads in local trattorias.
This food and wine tour is the trip of a lifetime to Italy’s most food-obsessed region.
And that’s before we talk about the local wines served each day at lunch and dinner.
We’ll also visit two boutique wineries in beautiful locations to enjoy cellar tastings with the winemakers.
I’ve chosen mid-autumn for this year’s gourmet tour to Italy.
The days are still warm and the seasonal produce – including wild mushrooms and cave-aged cheeses – are at their best.
Scroll down to see what guests on previous Italian food and wine tours thought and to find answers to the most frequently asked questions about gourmet tours to northern Italy.
Immerse yourself in the culture of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy’s most important food region. Visit artisanal food and wine producers, eat regional specialties in local restaurants, and enjoy hands-on cooking with a small group of fellow food and wine lovers in a relaxed environment on this food and wine tour of Emilia-Romagna.
The above itinerary covers the tour highlights, the order of activities and locations may vary.
Closest international airports are Bologna, Milan and Venice. Airport transfers not included. Train travel times are approx: Bologna to Parma 1.5 hrs; Milan to Parma 2.5 hrs/Bologna to Milan 3 hrs; Venice to Parma 3 hrs/Bologna to Venice 2.5 hrs. Car transfers can be arranged on request.
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Emilia-Romagna is known as Italy’s Food Valley because of its huge variety of world-class produce and diverse culinary traditions. Between the better-known Emilia in the west, with the foodie cities of Bologna, Modena and Parma, and the less-visited Romagna in the East with Adriatic seafood and produce from the Po Delta, Emilia-Romagna is a food and wine lover’s paradise.
On last count Emilia-Romagna had 44 products with either PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) or PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) designations! These include renowned foods like Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, Prosciutto di Parma and Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, as well as lesser-known regional specialties including small goods, cheeses, fresh produce, meats, rice, pasta, and baked goods.
Bologna is the capital city of the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. It’s most famous dish may be tagliatelle alla Bolognese, fresh egg pasta dressed with the local rich meat ragù (the ancestor of spaghetti Bolognese). Lasagne Bolognese is justifiably famous too.
Emilia-Romagna is a region of northern Italy, north of Florence and south of Milan and Venice. It stretches from the Adriatic Sea in the east almost to the Mediterranean in the west, cut off from that coast only by the thin crescent of Liguria.
Emilia-Romagna is home to Ferrari, Ducati, Lamborghini and Maserati. The Enzo Ferrari museum in Modena is well worth a visit for anyone with even a passing interest in cars and the Luciano Pavarotti Museum, in the late maestro’s home on the outskirts of Modena, is a fascinating tribute to this much-loved star.
On last count Emilia-Romagna had 44 products with either PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) or PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) designations, more than any other Italian region!
