Italy was always my favourite country, besides Australia. I have been here many times, whether it was during a school trip, on a crazy weekend trip with my sister or a roadtrip through Tuscany with my beautiful mum. I love the food, the culture and the wine. So I am very excited to be back again! This time I am starting my Italian road trip with Verona and the Reggio Emilia Province.
Italy, watch out, here I come!
Of course, the main reason for this trip is to escape the last month of the German winter. Not that there was an excuse needed to go to Italy.
Verona
Verona, the town of Shakespeare, romance and Romeo & Juliette. My first visit to Verona was during my school trip over 20 years ago and later with my sister. It is a beautiful medieval town with lots of streets to explore. Whether it is for shopping or dining, I love coming here.
The 1st century Roman Verona Arena stands old but grand in the middle of the city and the Juliette Balcony is definitely a must. That said, clearly everybody else thought so because this area was packed with tourists. And that during low season.
I wouldn’t want to be here during the high summer season! There was no way I could get even close to the Juliette statue. Luckily I had my photo taken next to her a long time ago.
Nevertheless I still spent plenty of hours in Verona walking lots of kilometres, taking lots of photos. Luckily my knee is recovering well from my ski incident in Slovakia. Read here more.
After Verona I went south and briefly stopped in a small town Mantua. It was a cute and unexpected stunning town. Although I don’t have a photo from the outside, the Basilica di Sant’Andrea was absolutely breathtaking inside. This town was a great find and perfect to add some steps in the morning.
Reggio Emilia Province
From Bologna to Modena, Parma and Reggio-Emilia, there are plenty of little towns to see in the Reggio Emilia Province (Emilia-Romagna) in Italy. It is supposed to be one of the prettiest areas in Italy, however, I must admit, none of those towns really stood out for me. (See brief summary at the end).
Bologna is a university town and was probably the most impressive one. The mix of the Romanesque and Renaissance architecture gave the old city a unique look. And the arches that stretch over 3km to the top of the hill where the ‘Santuario della Madonna di San Luca’ stands are amazing.
Due to my knee I drove the long and narrow road through the beautiful country side. The view was stunning and the Basilica looks grand and unique on top of the hill. I might come back and do the Partico of San Luca walk, rather than drive. (See here).
The interior of the basilica was nice however to me it didn’t seem as impressive as the Sant‘Andrea in Mantua.
Then there was Modena, Reggio-Emilia and Parma. There were nice but not photogenic enough to take lots of photos. Personally I would say the main reason to come to this area is for the food and the cars.
The Food
There is the town Parma for the cheese and ham of course. How good does a 36months old Parmesan taste?
Modena is the town of the Balsamico and although I didn’t go to a Balsamico winery I certainly stocked up on aged Balsamico here. Did you know real Balsamico is made out of white grapes and has zero sugar added?
And you can’t go to Bologna without having Pasta Bolognese of course. Where else if not there?
MY TIP: If you can, make sure that you buy your Italian goodies outside the cities and main squares. The value is so much better for the quality you get.
In addition, Italy is a great spot to eat in the park or in your hotel room. It is soo easy for me to buy the best produce in the supermarket or deli shop and enjoy it in my own space. Not to mention that most of the restaurants charge a sitting down fee. (2.50 Euro extra just to sit there?) And although the Italian Pizzas are light and super delicious I really shouldn’t eat them every day! Or should I?
The cars
The Reggio-Emilia Region is the home of some of the most luxurious automobile producers. E.g. Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini are all in Modena.
And although it isn’t in my budget to stock up on the cars the same way I stock up on food, I did splurge on some tickets to visit the two Ferrari Museums.
The Enzo Ferrari museum specialises on the history of Enzo and road cars and the Maranello Museum (outside the town) features the Formula One and Racing Car History. Given that I grew up with Formula One at a time when Michael Schumacher was THE driver, I always was a fan of Ferrari.
P.S. If you like cars I would recommend to see both museums.
My Summary
Because there is only that much you can eat and see in one place I spent only one, max two hours in each of the little towns in the Reggio-Emilia Province. You can probably stretch it out a bit more if you want, however I know that there is still plenty to see in Italy. And knowing the Tuscany area very well from previous trips I know I will enjoy this Region much more.
I will keep you posted very soon. But first, let’s go to Pisa!
