Modena
Another train ride, after a snack at the station. The trains are very good here - they run on time, are really clean and have pretty good luggage storage capacity under our second class seats. We haven't gone cheap, the Reggional trains are all second class! Very hot again at Modena, but just an easy flat walk to the apartment in the 35 degree heat.
The apartment is palazzo in size and quality. We even have a little turntable with Dire Straits, Genesis and Johnny Rivers vinyl to choose from. Did I do the right thing in getting rid of my vinyl collection, and then also brother Andrew's much more substantial collection? Andrew's though was next level, more than 600 each of vinyl LP's, CD's and video CD's.
The very efficient ducted cooling is great; the apartment is an excellent haven in these 35-36 degree climes.
We did the usual breakfast and lunch stock up at a nearby small supermarket after we moved in, and then departed on a familiarisation walk in the cool of the evening. This is a small place, with everything very close to us, and the walk gave us all the necessary reference points.
It's always interesting to walk in European towns. In one of the piazzas were three boards, with more than 1500 small portrait photos, and a few hundred more names. These are all people from Modena killed by the Nazis!
We are here mostly though to look at Ferrari and its history, and Ann had that all preplanned and pre-booked. On our first day, we turned up at the railway station to catch the bright red Ferrari-labelled bus to Maranello where the Ferrari factory was built in 1947. The land between Bologna and Modena is referred to as Motor Valley and is home for Ferrari but also for Maserati, Lamborghini and Ducati.
The Maranello museum was a feast of Ferrari racing, drivers and racing cars. Fangio, Hawthorn, Moss, Amon, Scheckter and the champion of champions: Michael Schumaker.
It did also have a section on custom building a Ferrari. Ann lingered on the choice of colour and upholstery.
We also toured the Enzo Ferrari Museo back in Modena; this focuses on Enzo's life and the history of the business and also has a display of Ferraris owned by famous musicians like Paul McCartney, Madonna and Pavarotti. Exiting this museo you see Enzo's quote: "The best Ferrari ever built is the next one".
Surprising how few have been built in its history - 35,000 cars according to the commentary being given by one of the guides we heard in the factory tour. I resisted the temptation to buy a red Ferrari cap for 85 Euros.
We finished the day dining out at Trattoria Da Enzo. I stuck with the Parmigiana tortellini which I'm getting pretty attached to. Ann had the Vecchia Modena, a tortelloni dish. And our starter was the spectacular: Gnocco (fried bread) with prosciutto.
For day two we walked the town to see some of the town's remarkable buildings and features, all again very close to home.
Palazzo Ducale on Piazza Roma, was built by Francesco I d'Este, as his family home. In 1861 it became the military academy. It's a very imposing building open only to group tours. We viewed the massive foyer area at its entrance which contains the names and ranks, and place of death of all the Italian military killed in WW2. Sobering number of names up there.
We then went on to the Ducal Gardens, and decided as we walked in, that the Este family were better builders than gardeners (or maybe they didn't leave enough in the coffers for maintenance of their work?) The large park contained many big old trees and gave us a very pleasant shady walk.
The pond was a pretty good match for Trump's renovated reflecting pool in Washington, very similar colour green, but to be fair, nobody had spent US $14 million on it. Nobody had poured peroxide into it either, so the goldfish were still orange, and the turtles still swimming. Although my childhood experience with peroxide on black hair showed that application of this oxidizer gave me orange hair, so maybe the goldfish started off black!
We couldn't get into the botanical gardens - appointment only - they work there on medicinal applications for plants, so it's not just a pretty sight.
We looked into the Duomo which was pretty impressive with a very large crypt area under the elevated altar, but skipped the climb up the nearby Ghirlandina Tower.
The Mercato Albinelli was bustling, lots of locals doing the shopping. Beautifully presented fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese, fish, and wine. We picked up lamb chops for tonight, and the lady at the butchery threw in some rosemary and a bay leaf or too. I'll add them to the pan for the occasion.
Our next planned event was a tour of the Acetaia Communale di Modena. This facility is owned by the Commune (city) di Modena, and is set up in the attic area of the Palazzo Communale on Piazza Grande. It is very small; our guide said the mayor uses it to produce gifts for important visitors. The three sets of barrels they have would produce just 100 bottles a year, and each bottle is only 100ml. Around Modena, families often have barrel sets for their own use - our guide has a set of barrels, one of which is a hundred years old - but of course there are large commercial producers too.
Whatever the size of the producer, traditional balsamic vinegar in the Modena area is made by the same method. In this process grape juice is added to vinegar, and the fermentation process takes the aging product through a sequence of 5-6 barrels for the 12 year aged product, or up to 12 barrels for making the 25 year aged product. In the 12 year product line that we saw, every year just one litre is taken out of the smallest barrel, and 15 litres of grape juice are added to the largest barrel in a process of fermentation and concentration. The summer heat in the attic area is good for the fermentation process and concentration is achieved by evaporation. In winter the attic is a very cold place which is good for clarifying the balsamic. This DOP product is sold as
Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and this description and the traditional shape of the bottle determine its authenticity.
Unsurprisingly it is not cheap; the 12 year old vinegar can sell for around 80 Euro/bottle and the 25 year 120 Euro/bottle. But a 25 year bottle (100ml) is over $500 in New Zealand. A new gold equivalent?
The last supper here tonight will be based around the lamb chops from the market and an avocado and tomato salad, Steve style, with some remnant Prosecco and a bit of Barbaresco, to wash it all down.
Tomorrow we move on to Parma, where we'll be looking at more food, among other things. We've had a great time in Modena. Home of Pavarotti, who says goodbye!
Parma
We left the palazzo accommodation at the designated checkout time, 10 am. Another very hot day, so the 15 minute walk to the station was a bit more of an effort. I'm backpacking with the Genesis pack I bought for our first Europe outing back in 2008. It's very good, and quite comfortable usually, but my right shoulder has been giving me grief for a couple of months now. Ann is trailing a suitcase. Neither of our bags are heavy, about 15 kg, but the cobblestones and uneven paving make it tougher going in the heat.
The train trip was about 40 minutes and we had seats and the bags stored nearby. Our intention was to have some lunch on arrival in Parma, as we needed to kill time until the apartment was available. We then planned to take a taxi. Good plan, didn't work! Any cafe close to the railway station had a predominance of young North African males filling the tables, so we really weren't too comfortable about setting up for a longish stay in that environment, and Ann's verdict was the food looked pretty awful as well. So we walked away from the station in the direction of our apartment to find a better option. Parma on a Sunday afternoon didn't provide one of those, so we settled on a 7 Euro gelato each and called it lunch.
Dinner made up for this, at the very popular Trattoria dei Correi, famous for Parma specialities.
Our first full day was about the food: Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma; these are really the main reasons for being here. We were picked up at a hotel next to the railway station for this tour, sharing our van with a German couple and four Beijing Chinese. The driver was our guide for this English language tour. We had to concentrate hard to grasp all he said, but he was very knowledgeable and did a good job.
First visit was a farm, factory and one of the 2000 suppliers of Parmigiano Reggiano. The difference for our supplier was that his product was organic and, as a small producer, his production style was more traditional and hands-on. The cows are barn-raised to manage their diet.
The producer we visited was Borgo del Gazzano, a family operation not far from Parma. One brother and others milked the black and white, and brown and white friesian cows and one ran the processing operation. You can see them at www.borgodelgazzanno.it. They are factory number 2472 and that number appears on every cheese sold as Parmigiano Reggiano. Their factory has four 600 litre copper vats for their cheese production.
We were able to see all stages of the production which was great. The night's milking is left to stand in shallow stainless steel trays, and the cream is skimmed off before it is put into the production tank in the morning. The morning's milk, unskimmed, is then added to the tank, no pasteurisation here, for the day's production. They add the rennet in and then apply some heat using steam.
The curd is removed a couple of hours later, about 50 kg of it, lifted out of the whey, and cut into two pieces which are hung from a rail and left to drain. The curd is then pressed into hoops, and left to drain further. It is important that all the whey has gone from the curd before the cheese starts the aging process. The hoops have a stencil lining which imprints all of the information required onto the cheese - the maker, the date, and all of the DOC compliance information.
The amazing thing about all this is that the process was discovered by the local monks in about 1500. Just mind-blowing really, that more than 500 years ago these guys worked out this rather complex technology which still makes a fantastic product today!
The cheeses then go into brining vats where they float around for a few days being regularly rolled over in the brine to ensure even treatment all round.
They are then moved into curing racks; there is a lot of turning and brushing here as well. Each round is checked regularly using a small hammer and the checker's ear, I kid you not. The sound of the cheese intensifies as it ages, and by 12 months of age there is no longer a dull thump as the cheese is tapped, it's more of a 'knock knock' thing. As the cheese ages it's a sharper and clearer knock. As I've referred to previously the cheese is sold as 12, 24, 36, 50 and up to 100 months old. The price increases by about 12 Euros per year. The rejects have their labelling removed and can be sold as hard cheese.
We tasted very generous amounts of an 18 month cheese and a 50 month cheese accompanied by some aged balsamic and a prosecco. Sadly we didn't buy any - we still have lots of travel to do and some very uncertain cold chains to work with.
Then it was on to the Parma ham producer visit. We stopped at Salumificio Ziveri Claudio at Tortiano,
www.salumifiiciozivericlaudio.com. This again was a small family business with the husband and wife owners working in the business at the age of around 70 years. We all enjoy prosciutto (ham), but the product we were seeing was the traditional Parma ham. This can be made only in the southern part of Parma province. It is 100% natural, just Italian pork legs combined with sea salt. Sounds all too easy really. This product is aged a minimum of 14 months and up to three years.
The process starts with very large hindquarters of pork. There is just one way to present them in terms of the butchering, and there is also a stipulated fat cover on the leg. The process starts with several bouts of brining, alongside a series (at least four) of coolrooms which are kept at differing humidity and temperature levels through the aging and curing processes. Parma ham has a steel rivet knocked into the hock end of the leg, as part of its PDO identification. A paste of rice flour, containing black pepper as a fly deterrent, is applied to the exposed flesh. The rice flour is a nod to to those who have issues with gluten, I'm sure that wasn't part of the monk's original recipe.
The testing and checking of this product as it nears the market place is two-pronged. With cheese it was a hammer and the ear involved, for Parma ham the tester uses a fine horse bone probe, and the nose. The probe is inserted in seven places on the leg and then the nose is used to detect the characteristic sweet smell of the ham.
Our generous tasting this time was with a choice of breads and a red frizzante Lambrusco wine. Fortunately the sun was above the yard arm for both the cheese and ham tasting experiences.
Back into Parma early afternoon, which gave us the opportunity to look at a few more of the town's historical places.
The Camera di San Paolo, started life as a community service nunnery founded in 985 by the Bishop of Parma. Two of the ruling abbesses, Cecelia Bergonzi and Giovanna da Piacenza commissioned the artwork that is still largely intact on walls and ceilings in the 15 and16th centuries. The Correggio frescoes in the refectory are world-acclaimed as testimonies to Renaissance art; the overall impact of the umbrella-like ceiling was stunning and the detail really lifelike. Although it focusses on the Goddess Diana it is seen as an allegory for the Abbess's struggles to maintain a political and social voice for the nunnery.
The convent was the centre for a group of humanists and was involved in activities or philosophies that worried the Popes. Eventually the Papal will prevailed and the abbey was cloistered in 1524. So no one but the cloistered sisters saw the frescoes for the next 285 years. Napoleon opened it up in 1810 when he arrived.
The plan not to visit more chiesas didn't survive long, but we are now visiting with a focus on the art on the walls. Correggio spent quite a bit of time in Parma so there is some of his work in a few places as well as at the Camera di San Paolo we visited yesterday.
Chiesa di San Giovanni, our first call, is a very dark building, but Correggio painted the frieze high up along the nave. It is part of a Benedictine complex - church, monastery and an apothecary which was our next visit.
The Benedictines saw community service as an essential part of their calling. The apothecary - Speziera di San Giovanni - is where the monks processed herbs, plants, and some minerals and oils to produce remedies for everyday illnesses in nearby hospitals and in the community. The art and frescoes were also well worth a wander through this small building. (As they worked the monks were supervised by medical worthies such as Hippocrates high up on the ceilings and walls).
Monks certainly had the development of technologies firmly in their sights. They keep popping up in lots of areas. Weve seen it here in medicines, in other places in food (parmigiano), and they were also active wine makers and sometimes liqueur producers.
The Duomo Cattedrale di Parma is a huge church, not more than a stone's throw from the afore visited San Giovanni. It is an exceptional Romanesque style church, rebuilt after an 1117 earthquake destroyed the first cathedral. The altar is very elevated and the crypt underneath is large enough to hold any church I attended as a youngster.
More beautiful art and frescoes, and more Correggio to view. In this case Correggio's dome painting is the most famous piece. It's of the Assumption and occasioned much excitement when it was first revealed. Quite pink and almost 3D. However one critic called it a 'mess of frogs' legs'. Reputedly, at this, Correggio left Parma in a huff.
Last call for the morning was the Basilica of Madonna Steccata, built around 1539. It houses the tomb of a local count Adam Neipperg, the spouse of Marie Louise of Austria. Here the most famous work is the fresco painted by Parmigianino between 1530 and 1539, illustrating the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins but it was too dark capture a good image.
Our afternoon walk was to the Parco Ducale which 'provides an intricate and lush green landscape' said Ann's notes. It was again very hot, mid 30's, the shade under most of the trees was occupied by groups of North African youths, and the park itself was pretty arid, so we decided that we were probably better off at home. There are large numbers of these guys, obviously not working, so the system that brings them here needs some tweaking. The Parma River which splits Parma is certainly reflecting the current dry spell.
The stroll back home took us past some lovely shops, but I'm glad I'm not having to shop here. Euro 135 for a polo is a bit more than Gazman prices. But window-shopping is fun.
We dined at
Cocchi, a ristorante across town in Oltretorrente. The wine list was immense, about 25 pages, and some of the prices were galactic, not just wines costing hundreds of euros, the highest I saw was 3750 Euro. I turned that page pretty quickly. The menu gave us an opportunity to apply some of our food trip intel. We both tried the anolini in broth recommended by our food tour guide, and it was lovely. Ann went for the slow cooked duck main, and mine was the thin slice of veal stuffed with parmigiana which was just terrific.
We are still having very warm weather, high 30's in fact, so the air conditioning in the apartment is running whenever we are home.
Our next day started earlyish with the market in Piazza Ghiaia. No produce in this one, just stall after stall of shoes and clothes and a couple of small hardware places. Quite crowded and a largely Middle Eastern clientelle. Prices very cheap, but not much of interest there for travellers.
Then the morning cappuccino, (mine reinforced with an extra shot) because without that it tastes just like warmed milk. Flat whites and lattes are not a thing in Italy.
After that it was on to the Palazzo della Pilotta. This, you will probably agree after seeing the approach photo, is not an appealing or impressive building exterior. Mind you if you'd been left unfinished, used for stabling horses and as a barracks and bombed in WW2 .....
However, this time the old adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover" could very well be applied to this place which has the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Teatro Farnese, Galleria Nationale, and the Biblioteca Palatina.
We started at
Museo Archeologico. This was fascinating. Its displays and interpretive signage trace the country's progression through the ages, and also highlight what was happening here in Parma through each period. We started with prehistory: The Paleolithic Age, The Mesolithic Age, The Bronze Age, The Copper Age, The Terramare Civilisation, The Iron Age, and The Roman Age. I'll assemble all of the interpretive stuff into a little booklet when I get home, so I can read a bit more at my leisure. It has a very impressive assembly of information and artifacts. Quite a contrast to our very short history in NZ. The stone age adzes and cutting or scraping tools on display here could have been found being used in NZ as recently as the 1600-1700s. There's also an Egyptian collection, including a mummy.
The Galleria Nationale was in renovation, but the array of paintings we could access was great. Lots of Correggio (such as the Holy Family resting after their flight from Egypt) and Parmigianino major works, all beautifully arrayed. Some were huge like this one of The Death of Virginia. (Look up this story!)
And a stunning small work by Leonardo da Vinci is one of their prized works: La Scapigliata (she of the dishevelled hair).
The Teatro Farnese is an all-wooden theatre, built originally to host an event for the Duke's family in 1618-9. It is an impressive structure which was destroyed by bombs in WW2, and has since been faithfully rebuilt.
The Palatine Library was built in 1761 to endow the Duchy with a useful library and to benefit the public. It became one of Europe's first great public libraries and contains some 700,000 books.
Overall Palazzo della Pilotta has a most impressive interior. Better to have that, than a flashy exterior and not much inside. This is a great place to visit.
And to finish on a lighter note we visited the very quirky Museo Giordano Ferrari, which houses puppets from four generations of puppet masters in this family.
Tomorrow we head for the mountains, courtesy of Avis this time. It will be nice to be managing bags over very short distances.
