The Food Valley

Five days between Parma, Modena and Reggio, where Italian food culture was first codified and the producers still open at dawn.
Duration 5 days - 4 nights
Group size 20 to 35 people
Season March, April, May, June, September, October, November
Highlights Crafts, Food and gastronomy, Italian cities
Destinations Emilia Food Valley

Where the Producers Are

A single base and four days of short drives. A Parmigiano dairy at six in the morning, prosciutto cellars in the hills above Langhirano, acetaie in family attics, and the Romanesque cathedral at Modena between one visit and the next.

Three products, three towns, and the rules that made them

Itinerary

Dairies at dawn, cellars in the hills, attics full of vinegar

  • A Parmigiano Reggiano dairy during the morning production, not a staged visit
  • Prosciutto cellars in the hills, with the producer explaining the ageing
  • An acetaia where balsamic has been ageing in the same family attic for decades
  • Modena’s Romanesque cathedral and the covered market
  • A short base and no packing between visits
Day 1 - 2

Arrival in Parma

Arrival and transfer to the hotel, which stays the same for the whole programme. The afternoon is free in a small ducal capital that walks in twenty minutes. Welcome dinner with the local salumi and a Lambrusco that is drier than its reputation.

Day 3

Dairy at dawn, cellars by noon

An early start at a Parmigiano Reggiano dairy, in the room where the curd is worked, at the hour it actually happens. Breakfast afterwards. In the hills above Langhirano, a prosciutto cellar with the producer explaining the ageing. Lunch on site.

Day 4

Modena, attic by attic

Morning at the Romanesque cathedral and the covered market in Modena, then an acetaia where balsamic has been ageing in the same family attic for decades, and the difference between the two legal grades becomes obvious. Lunch in the town. Optional afternoon at the Ferrari museum in Maranello.

Day 5

Parma, opera and the ducal city

Morning at the Teatro Regio and the Correggio frescoes in the cathedral and the Camera di San Paolo. Independent lunch. Afternoon free, with an optional pasta workshop making anolini with a home cook. Farewell dinner in the city.

Day 5

Departure

Morning transfer to Bologna or Milan for onward flights, with a final stop at a shop where what was tasted during the week can be bought and shipped.

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