Din Hassan heads to a beautiful region of Italy to acquire cooking skills and unearth its fascinating history
Learning how to make pasta, a night at the ballet and a day spent discovering an intriguing ghost story... Emilia-Romagna is nothing if not diverse!
Sandwiched between the River Po and the Apennine Mountains, this is one of Italy’s most fertile and productive regions and offers visitors a warm welcome, fine food and breathtaking views.
My trip was only for three days but I was determined to cram in as much as possible.
The welcome at Bologna airport was warm – a balmy 30C – and I headed for my first stop, Dozza, a small town 40 minutes away.
It’s famous for the Festival of the Painted Wall, which takes places every two years, and is basically upmarket graffiti as Italian and international artists create spectacular works on buildings.
After a brief look around, lunch was calling – and La Locanda del Castello is a great little restaurant with a tree growing through the roof.
Refuelled, I moved on to Ravenna, another 40-minute drive away, for a tour of the historic centre. This included the Basilica of San Vitale and its fascinating and challenging maze on the floor. Finally, I checked into the Bisanzio Hotel.
And so to pasta. At last!
The Ravenna area is well-known for its tagliatelle and tortellini – the latter is usually filled with cheese and meat and sometimes also described as a “pregnant women’s navel” – hence their alternative name of ombelico or “belly button”.
I found myself at the Casa Artusi cookery school, just outside Ravenna at Forlimpopoli (a one-day course costs from £119 casartusi.it ). It’s named after Pellegrino Artusi, one of Italy’s most famous culinary figures from the 19th century whose 1891 book Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well has 790 recipes and is still a bestseller.
The lesson started off with a chef showing how to make the fresh pasta from scratch – and from nothing more than flour and eggs.
After “mastering” that skill, my class was told the golden rule for making sure your freshly-made pasta is cooked – it rises to the top of the pan of boiling water when it’s ready. Then you get to eat it!
And why not try it with some good local wines from Bertinoro? I’m happy to recommend them after a detour to a couple of vineyards there for a tasting.
My visit coincided with the Ravenna Festival, a summer extravaganza of culture founded in 1990, and a chance for my first night at the ballet.
I’ve always thought ballet was not for me, but the show at the Rasi Theatre was fantastic and left me mesmerised – even if I don’t know a tutu from a pas de deux (from £22, ravennafestival.org ).
From ballet to a banshee – and a ghost hunt down the coast in Rimini at the castle of Montebello (£5.50, castellodimontebello.com ). This fantastic fortress has great views, including one of the tiny state of San Marino, but it’s the story about a young girl called Guendalina Malatesta which captivates visitors.
She was the daughter of the castle lord Ugolinuccio and on June 21, 1375, the day of summer solstice, she fell into a subterranean chamber through a trapdoor and was never seen again.
The legend says that Guendalina is still trapped underground in the castle and her cries can be heard on the solstice when the number of the year ends with a “0” or a “5”. Attempts have been made to record the cries, and the sounds picked up are played to visitors at the end of their guided tour.
Before saying arrivederci to Emilia-Romagna, I visited another fortress, this time in San Leo, 20 miles southwest of my base in Rimini, Hotel Lungomare.
Here, visitors can stay overnight on themed medieval evenings complete with weapons and armoury on display and staff in costume – preparations for an event were under way on our visit (£6.40, san-leo.it ) and it looked great fun.
My trip also coincided with England’s World Cup match against Italy – and it was quite an experience to be in the home of the Azzurri for a fantastic atmosphere as we lost 2-1.
As ever, England’s finishing let them down. You might say it was pasta joke...
Get there
Rooms at the Bisanzio Hotel in Ravenna start at around £63pn B&B.bisanziohotel.com
Rooms at the Hotel Lungomare in Rimini start at around £55pn B&B.lungomarehotel.it
EasyJet flies from Gatwick to Bologna from £36.49 one way. easyjet.com
Tourist info: emiliaromagnaturismo.it/en and italia.it/en
Time zone: UK +1hr
Currency: Euro £1 = 1.25
Best time to go: Say ciao to Emilia-Romagna in late spring/early autumn.
Courtesy