Gourmet products local specialties and wines Emilia-Romagna

This family business, located in the heart of a vineyard, has been producing traditional balsamic vinegar for several generations. Visits allow to discover the production, to test different balsamics (even 100 years old!) and to buy some products on the spot: balsamic creams, olive oil, balsamic condiment flavoured with truffle, pear, passion fruit, etc. L'acetaia also organizes visits followed by a meal at the estate and cooking classes to learn how to prepare traditional tortelloni.

Since 1905, five generations have succeeded one another in this family shop located in the Quadrilatero district. On the high shelves lining the premises, you will find an infinite number of delicacies: parmesan cheese, pasta sauces, chocolate, various condiments, preserves, sweets from all over Italy, a wide selection of wines and whiskies, all the amari (liqueurs) you are looking for. There is also olive oil and a wide selection of balsamic vinegars that you can taste if you ask for it

Since 1890, this café-pastry delights its guests. The place is refined, with furniture of yesteryear. To taste: the < i > torta di riso < /i >, typical of Reggio.

Here, in the basement of the fortress, lies the wine production of Emilia Romagna in all its diversity. No less than 800 different labels are on display and just waiting to be tasted. Above all, the price-quality ratio is unbeatable here: count 10 € for a tasting accompanied by local delicacies. Finally, please note that you can place an order on the wine library's website to be delivered directly to your home.

Every Friday, producers from the Ferrara area set up shop around the Porta Paola, an ancient city gate built in the 17th century, and offer their seasonal produce: fruit and vegetables, but also meat, cheese and poultry. There are also jam jars, pretty flowers and local wine.Those who love antique fairs, on the other hand, will rather go to the Trento e Trieste and Savonarola squares on the first Saturday and the first Sunday of each month, when a market for antiques and collectibles is held.

To the south of the historic centre, after crossing the Burana Canal on Via Bologna, you reach the most famous delicatessen in the city, specialising in the production of salami, sausages, pancetta and other tasty pigs. Prepared by craftsmen, they are then left to rest in the maturing rooms before being put up for sale. Choose, for example, the salama da sugo, the Ferrarese salami with garlic, or the zia ferrarese, typical specialties of Ferrara.

The true gourmets will find here what they need to satisfy their desires! Founded in 1796 (Bologna was then occupied by Napoleon's troops), it is the oldest chocolate maker in the city. Majani was an official supplier to the Royal House of Savoy after the unification of Italy. Taste the famous cremini, incredibly melting little squares: made of four layers of marzipan and hazelnut paste, they were invented in 1911 for the launch of the Fiat Tipo 4. Another chocolatey delicacy is the tortellino, dark, milk or white, with creamy filling.

In the heart of the Quadrilatero, Eataly has taken up residence inside the Nuovo Ambasciatori, a restored 19th century market. More than a shop, it is a cultural centre that combines culture and gastronomy on three floors, with a bookshop, a café, an osteria, a wine library and a space for events and meetings around Italian products. A didactic place where you can eat, relax, read and get all the beautiful products of the peninsula. An address open to all, a must for lovers of the land.

Good stores are often to be found outside the city center. This is the case for Stragù, which offers a rich gastronomy of fresh and artisanal local products with dishes cooked on the spot that highlight the traditional recipes of the region. Choice and quality are not lacking. Ideal for a quick meal to eat in or take away, but also for an aperitif while enjoying succulent cold cuts and cheeses of character. The wine window is well diversified, from the classics to the natural ones.

Here you can taste the famous torta barozzi, invented by Eugenio Gollini in 1907 and whose secret recipe, kept by the Gollini family, has been handed down from generation to generation. However, the veil is lifted on the ingredients: melting chocolate, almonds, eggs, butter and sugar. Eugenio Gollini decided to give his invention the name "barozzi" to celebrate the memory of the architect Jacopo Barozzi, because in 1907, in Vignola, they were celebrating the 400th anniversary of his birth.

In this shop you can buy typical gastronomic products of Ferrara and its region: pampapato (or pampamper), a typical dessert of the city, fresh homemade pasta and in particular cappellacci di zucca (squash cappellacci), salama da sugo, coppia ferrarese, a hard bread twisted into an X shape, various cold cuts, local beers and wines from the PoDelta . There are also some handicrafts. The company also rents bicycles, to get around the city like the people of Ferrara.

Not far from the historic centre, this glacier is listed among the 50 best in Italy. Founded by a couple of computer scientists converted into ice-cream and pastry chefs, the brand offers traditional flavours as well as some more sought-after and unusual ones, using strictly natural ingredients and favouring the short supply chain: seasonal fruit from the Reggio region, pistachios and hazelnuts bought directly from the producer... To try: the cremino tricolore. The couple has also started making panettoni and focaccine.

Brisighella is famous for the production of a quality extra-virgin olive oil with an intense and balanced aroma, Brisighello, which has a protected designation of origin (PDO). In this gourmet shop, you can buy Brisighella oil, but also local products: jams, cheeses, local wines and condiments for pasta and bruschette. It is certainly not cheap, but the products are of quality; ideal to bring back a greedy souvenir of your holidays. A stone's throw from Via degli Asini.

Established in 1907, Gamberini is the oldest pastry shop in the city. It is a true institution where locals line up patiently to take home treats. Here, the word "window shopping" takes on its full meaning. One is ecstatic in front of the strawberry and raspberry trees. Inside, you don't know what to choose as the pastries are so tempting. At lunch, it is possible to take a quick break on the small outside terrace, with a salad and a sandwich. For a snack, you can accompany your coffee with a chocolate.

It is certainly the most famous gelateria in the city. And for good reason, the homemade flavors such as Alice (mascarpone and chocolate), Leonardo (ice cream with toasted pine nuts), Cavour (ricotta, lemon from the Amalfi coast and pasta frolla), San Luca (white chocolate with crispy puffed rice) are delicious. For those who love sorbets, the taste of fruit will melt delicately under your palate. It is customary to enjoy this delicacy in the garden across the street, where you will see families and students taking to the benches with their ice cream.

The Mercato del Erbe is the meeting place par excellence for food lovers who like to pick the best of each store to do their shopping. Since 1968, the Fromaggeria Barbierini has been selling artisanal cheeses from Emilia Romagna. A family business from father to son that smells of authenticity. You can find top-quality Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, whose wheels decorate the shop, but also everything you need to compose a cheese and Parma ham platter, mustards, pasta, syrup and carefully selected local wines.

Lovers of cheeses and Parmesan cheese, don't miss the visit to a caseificio of Parmigiano Reggiano (artisanal production of real Parmesan cheese). Les 4 Madonne is an ultra-modern caseificio that scrupulously respects the different steps to make traditional Parmesan cheese. The visit is interesting and allows you to see the room where no less than 33,000 wheels of parmesan cheese are stored. However, you should know that most of the activity takes place between 8:30 and 10:00 am. There is a shop at the entrance where you can buy fresh parmesan cheese and other regional products.

Oinoe represents the tradition and history of a land that has always been oriented towards the cultivation of vines made famous by names such as Malvasia, Moscato, Barbera, Lambrusco. From the property, accompanied by a guide, you will discover the vineyard, a trekking tour to appreciate the know-how of a culture; an enriching tour where the passion of the owner for his land is transmitted to his visitors! The return to the cellar is followed by a tasting. Next door, a small B&B allows those who wish to enjoy the place for a longer time.

The famous chain of Italian food stores is located in Forlì on more than 2,000 ^m2 spread over 3 floors. The gourmet will find everything: a bakery, an ice cream parlour, cold cuts and cheeses, fresh pasta, seasonal fruits and vegetables, wine and all the condiments that adorn Italian tables. A point of sale is dedicated to Romagna. And if all this shopping has whetted your appetite, head to one of Eataly's restaurants, such as the Trattoria di Giuliana, which serves traditional Romagna cuisine.

In the Modenese countryside, Villa San Donnino is a picturesque Liberty-style mansion built in 1910. It is here that Davide and Cristina make their precious traditional balsamic vinegar and show visitors the stages of its production, the fruit of ancestral know-how. Welcoming and very clear explanations in French. At the end of the course, tasting vinegars of different ages... delicious on a scoop of ice cream!