Category: Italy

Amore for Amarone: A Springtime Wine Tasting in Valpolicella, Italy

Among the verdant, rolling hills of Italy’s Valpolicella region near Verona, winemakers have been turning out wine since ancient Greek times. Once we’d soaked up Verona’s architectural splendor, and had seen Verona’s Arena and Juliet’s Balcony, we traded city life in fair Verona for a wine-tasting excursion in the countryside, replete with the region’s famed Amarone and Valpolicella wine. Our escape took us to the…
Mouth-Watering Modena: A Cooking Class in Italy

“Secrets, especially with cooking, are best shared so that the cuisine lives on.” Bo Songvisava Having just thrown back a rich shot of espresso, we slipped into black ‘Chef for a Day’ aprons. Our cooking class in Modena, Italy had officially begun. In strolled our instructor, Chef Massimiliano ‘Max’ Telloli of the Osteria Stallo del Pomodoro…
Savoring the Moments in Modena, Italy

“We do not remember days, we remember moments.” Cesare Pavese As we strolled the cobbled streets of Modena, Italy, surrounded by the graceful city’s earth-toned buildings, we couldn’t help but feel that we were back in a part of the world that doesn’t often see visitors. The portico-packed, elegant lanes were decidedly Italian in architectural character, but…
Love in the Air: A Wedding in Modena, Italy

“Where there is love there is life.” Mahatma Gandhi Shortly before the centuries-old bell tower tolled five o’clock, a crowd of uninvited and surprise guests huddled together on Modena’s Piazza Grande to celebrate a marriage. A crisp-white Fiat dressed in balloons stood guard on the cobbled Italian town square, ready to whisk the new couple away. Step-by-step, in…
Edible Art: The Fresh Market of Modena, Italy

In some ways, the Mercato Albinelli in Modena, Italy is less like a covered market and more like a gallery showcasing fine art. One artist exhibits his prize, plump strawberries; another her handmade golden tortelloni; while another puts the finishing touches on links of sausage. “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” George Bernard Shaw…
Photo du Jour: Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese on the Move – Modena, Italy

A Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese-maker transports approximately 230 kilos (500 pounds) of the prized cheese at the Hombre Farm outside of Modena, Italy. An organic wheel of this magnificent cheese sells for approximately 700 Euros ($975 USD), and is typically aged for 24 months. Hombre is able to produce about twelve of these wheels a day. We…