We’ve arrived in the Lunigiana and have just completed our first shopping expedition. It was to our local supermarket, but still, it was good.
There is something about being free of America’s gigantic stores in which all the food comes from a handful of industrial crap food companies like Kraft, Conagra and General Mills. Besides, who needs 136 kinds of toilet paper that all comes from pretty much the same place? Condense it all down and the essentials will fit in three aisles, mostly devoted to traditional hominid input rather than cleaning up the output. And one of them will be devoted to preserved meats, artisan breads, and other delectable comestibles that are almost entirely missing from US supermarkets.
For the true foodie though, a pilgrimage to the Emilia-Romagna region is always called for. I was happy to see that there is now a website devoted to itineraries based around traditional methods of producing the best foods of the region. It’s called I Musei del gusto dell’Emilia Romagna and it shows you how to visit 19 food museums, focused on everything from potatoes to bread. It’s in Italian, but it’s a start. You’ll figure it out I’m sure.
That said, I’m quite partial to the Piemonte as a foodie destination, mainly because of its production of over 160 kinds of cheese—not to mention that it’s Italy’s supplier of herbs. Then there’s Barolo.
But Emilia-Romagna wins out with most folks, and American tourists often overlook its charms for other more talked-about places. But foodies are a different breed. Right?
Here’s an Emilia-Romagna Map so you can plan your trip to the Emilia-Romagna region.
And don’t forget to head on over to the Wandering Italy Facebook Page where we’re discussing Italian craft beer, coming home to the Lunigiana, and what’s good about, of all places, Germany.