Stanley Tucci’s recent Searching for Italy series on CNN is certainly generating a lot of interest and love for Italy. After the most recent episode featuring Bologna which is aptly nicknamed La Grassa (the Fat One – due to its hospitality and incredible food) we have been asked if we could incorporate some of the restaurants and locations featured into a tour of the city. Assolutamente! (absolutely!).
Bologna is a city where you come to integrate, to be a local and to cast of the shroud of being a tourist. It is undoubtedly the food capital of Italy. It sits in the Emilia-Romagna region, which is home to 44 protected food products including Parma ham, Parmesan cheese, Balsamic vinegar from Modena and Mortadella. So what to do and where to eat in Bologna becomes a very simple question to answer. The options are endless.
Restaurants and Locations
If we are focusing on the restaurants and locations featured in Stanley’s series then these include:
Caseificio Rosola: 3 star Michelin chef Massimo Bottura led Tucci to this creamery in Zocca, a town about 30 miles outside of Bologna. Bottura swears by Rosola’s parmigiano, which is made from the milk of local Bianca Modenese cows.
Casa Maria Luigia: Bottura and Tucci brought some of Rosola’s ricotta back to Bottura’s hotel-restaurant, where they enjoyed the cheese with local honey, elderflower vinegar and a bit of traditional balsamic vinegar. (It was so delicious, Tucci nearly forgot he was making a TV show!)
Salumeria Simoni: In Bologna, Tucci lunched and learned with Mattia Santori, one of the leaders of Italy’s Sardines political movement. They stopped to buy mortadella, the silky pork sausage made with pistachios and peppercorns and dotted with sweet fat.
Gran Deposito Aceto Balsamico Giuseppe Giusti: Tucci tasted a spoonful of history in the form of traditional balsamic vinegar. The Giusti family has crafted its signature vinegar from grapes near Modena for more than 400 years.
Casa Artusi: Pellegrino Artusi is known as Italy’s culinary godfather, and Tucci turned to Artusi disciple Barbara Asioli to learn how to make his version of Bolognese ragu. Asioli assists in the cookery classes at this museum dedicated to Artusi.
Osteria Io e Simone: Tucci ended his adventure in the coastal town of Rimini, the birthplace of famed director Federico Fellini. Accompanied by Fellini’s niece Francesca, Tucci feasted on freshly made bowls of cappelletti (stuffed pasta like similar to tortellini) and strozzapreti.
First visit to Bologna?
So if this would be your first visit to Bologna then we would suggest that you set Bologna as your base and this would give you the opportunity to visit all the restaurants and locations quite easily whilst also experiencing some of the other delights and must sees of Bologna and the neighbouring towns and countryside
If tracing Stanley’s footsteps wasn’t your thing we would normally recommend no more than 3 – 4 days in Bologna but for the foodies and culture seekers then 5 – 7 days would be a better option.
Things to see in Bologna
Bologna is an underrated city, it is a beautiful city that shows off its plethora of terracotta buildings, its medieval architecture and hundreds of portico (covered arches) covering almost 40 kilometres in length including the longest portico in the world with 666 arches. Other than casually walking the covered walkways the main things to see in Bologna include:
Fontana di Nettuno – Neptune’s Fountain can be seen in the middle of Piazza del Nettuno, adjacent to Piazza Maggiore it is one of the city’s recognizable landmarks. The fountain was not only an aesthetic addition to the square but also served the merchants who would use the water and even wash their goods here. At the center of the fountain rises a bronze statue of Neptune nicknamed “The Giant.” The statue was considered indecent at the time due to its well endowed private parts and the sculptor was even asked to alter it but refused. If you stand at a certain angle The Giant’s thumb lines up with his genitalia giving the impression of an erect penis. We are not joking!
Piazza Maggiore – Tourists arriving in Bologna usually head first for this picturesque and historic public square and find themselves passing here several times on their stay in the city. Piazza Maggiore (Major Square) is bordered by the 5th largest cathedral in the world as well as ornate renaissance palaces.
Basilica di San Petronio – This church was named in honor of the city’s patron saint, St. Petronio and is Bologna’s main church it also holds the saint’s relics. The church is famous for its music, the art of bell ringing. The church has a meridian line on the floor of the left aisle which was calculated by astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini. The line can precisely tell the day of the year.
Museo Civico Archeologico – The Archeological Civic Museum of Bologna (MCA) can be found in the Palazzo Galvani. The collection on display was formed by merging the University of Bologna’s collection, the antique collection of Pelagio Palagi and various archaeological findings from in and around Bologna. It is one of the country’s most important archaeological museums holding 200,000 pieces including over 3,500 objects in the Egyptian section. It covers local history from the prehistoric period to the ancient Roman age as well as a collection of Egyptian artifacts.
Santa Maria della Vita – This remarkable church complex was established in the 1200s by the Congregation of Flagellati named for their habit of whipping themselves. The church (1260) has one of the most famous domes in Bologna representative of baroque Bologna.
Le due Torri (Two Towers) – Torri degli Asinelli e Garisenda are two towers and one of the main symbols and landmarks of Bologna. It is not clear why the towers were built but it is thought that rivaling families built bigger and better towers for protection and to show their affluence and power.
Museo della Storia di Bologna – The Museum of the History of Bologna takes you through the history and culture of Bologna introducing you to the leading historical figures from the city and the major events which changed the course of the city’s history.
Basilica di Santo Stefano – Saint Stephan’s Basilica is part of a religious complex which encompasses seven buildings and is also called the “Complex of Seven Churches.”
Activities
Some of the activites we’d suggest while you are in Bologna include:
* Take a tour of the city with a local
* Take part in a Classic Bologna Food Tour
* Learn to cook with an experienced Bolognese home cook
* Take a bike tour of Bologna city center for a couple of hours or get out on an e-bike into the hills of Bologna
* Learn the art of Bolognian aperitivo with a local
* Home to some of Italy’s most skilled street artists, take a Street Art Bike Tour
* Head out of the city and get into the Chianti wine region on a wine tour
*Get out into the Motor Valley and visit the Ferrari, Ducati and Lamborghini factories
* Self guide or join a food tour of Modena (home of Balsamic Vinegar) and/or Parma (Ham and Cheese)
* Climb to the top of the Asinelli Tower – the view is worth the 500 steps!
* Explore the market streets of Quadrilatero – the trendy, beating gourmet heart of Bologna!
* Go in search of Bologna’s Hidden Canals
* Visit Ghetto Ebraico (the Jewish Ghetto)
So if you are looking to follow in Stanley Tucci’s footsteps or prefer to create your own unique Italian adventure or combine the two then Follow this link and we’ll set up a time to call you and let you know how we might help or advise you on what to do next.
We’d love you to leave a comment below. Which of these locations that Stanley visited was your favorite? Is there somewhere he missed that he should have gone to? Or something he should have tasted?
