We will visit places of production of the area’s leading products, in family-run companies, with rather small production volumes, but high quality and historical character.
You will have the opportunity to meet the owners personally, listening to the story from their own lips, and you will know the characteristics that make the products of the highest quality level.
TRAVEL PROGRAMME
DAY 1
Visit to a traditional vinegar cellar that exports the culture of true balsamic vinegar. The Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is a product of the highest gastronomy, protected by the PDO indication. An ancient secret lies behind its production, which is kept in the lands of Modena… You will know the differences and characteristics of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena P.D.O., Balsamic Vinegar of Modena P.G.I. (Protected Geographical Indication), Organic Products and Dressing. Lunch will follow, based on characteristic traditional dishes, reinterpreted and revisited through the famous Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. In the afternoon visit to one of the most important wineries in the Bolognese hillsides, the area par excellence for the production of Pignoletto wine, in particular in the hilly areas of the municipalities of Valsamoggia, Monte San Pietro, Zola Predosa, Sasso Marconi, Marzabotto, Pianoro and Monterenzio. We will appreciate the value of a prestigious recognition conferred to it: the DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) indication for the Pignoletto Classico dei Colli Bolognesi. Tasting will follow.
DAY 2
Unmissable stop at the bizarre Rocchetta Mattei, one of the most peculiar attractions of the province of Bologna, characterised by a fairytale architecture derived from the imagination of Count Cesare Mattei (second half of the 19th century) and which is an eclectic mix of the styles medieval and Moorish, well detectable in the interplay of domes, towers and pinnacles. Stop in a restaurant for lunch based on typical local and seasonal products. A visit to an 18th-century mill still in operation will follow in the afternoon to dive into the past and learn about the ancient art of grinding grains.
DAY 3
Day dedicated to visiting the emblematic places of Bologna. We will discover San Petronio, through its chapels, its curiosities and its history, which began by municipal will in 1390; Santo Stefano, a magnificent abbey complex known as the “Seven Churches” and “Holy Jerusalem of Bologna”, built over a pre-existing temple dedicated to Isis. The buildings of the ancient monastery are reminiscent of the sacred places of the Holy Land, creating a unique, suggestive and engaging atmosphere. Traditional lunch in a restaurant. In the afternoon visit to San Domenico, an extraordinary an extraordinary treasure chest of art. The building was built a few years after the death of the Holy founder of the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominican Order, starting from 1221. An absolute masterpiece is the Chapel of S. Domenico, in which the remains of the saint, who died in Bologna in 1219, rest: here we will admire the interventions, that were carried out over the centuries, by the Pisano brothers, Niccolò da Puglia, better known as Niccolò dell’Arca, and even Michelangelo… up to the Apotheosis fresco in the the semi-dome of the apse, a work by Guido Reni. We will then reach San Francesco, the oldest Gothic building in the city (1236-1263), second in size in Italy only to that of Assisi, full of symbols and curious stories, from music to aviation, and also the burial place of an Antipope.
