Wherever you find yourself wandering around in the beautiful Italian region known as Emilia Romagna, there is one thing that you won't be able to help noticing: whether it's mountains, hills or wide landscapes bordering the Po river, there will always be a house in sight, but you will never bump into a big city.
And perhas this is exactly where the secret of the local cuisine lies: families used to have just enough space around their home to raise chickens, build a small barn and farm rabbits, cows or pigs - and yet they were always close enough to the road to become a possible stop or refreshment point on the way for the wayfareres that traveled through this huge plain.
This vocation for hospitality and the richness of its ingredients such as eggs, meats, wines, and wheat make Emilia Romagna a land that celebrates taste in its very own way.
Awarded by Forbes in 2013 as the region with the best food in the world, in January 2018 Emilia Romagna was included by the New York Times in the list of the 52 unmissable destinations in the world.
Every household along the region's city and country roads has a pasta-making tradition. The recipes vary from city to city, from family to family, and the same goes for the many different stuffings that enrich delicacies such as cappelletti, cappellacci, tortelli and tortellini - but be advised: confusing denominations and flavors is deemed inappropriate, because every pasta shape and name is a piece of local history and idiom.
Meat is of course the other staple food, exalted in roasts, boiled and seasoned to become a true delicacy such as in Prosciutto di Parma, Culatello di Zibello and Mortadella, also know as Bologna, from the city of he same name.
Emilia Romagna is home to many authentic old-style trattorias and restaurants. It is not hard to recognize them: upon crossing their threshold, you will instantly get that frozen-in-time vibe, the feeling that someone has been waiting for you to come, and that everything is now ready to reward you with food, rest and joy.