Visit Emilia: discover history, taste and culture between Parma, Piacenza and Reggio Emilia

Places steeped in old history, cities that talk about millenary traditions, hamlets to discover, castles and manors with everlasting charm, country traditions, intense flavours that speak about generations and lands sprawling from woods, plains and hills: all this is the Emilia Romagna region, a Region that talks through its historical and cultural heritage and welcomes travellers making them fall in love with its genuine food.

A land that the project Destinazione Turistica Emilia, namely Emilia Tourist Destination, has the aim of promoting, narrating and opening up to the world. A journey through taste, old flavours, art and nature to experience and remember while enjoying the pleasure of crossing varying landscapes, yet with common passion for their roots, for the treasures that identify the architectural fabrics of cities, for the different productions that feature world famous gastronomic excellences.

The itinerary proposed by Destinazione Turistica Emilia starts from Parma, Unesco Creative City of Gastronomy and Capital of Culture 2020, to reach Reggio Emilia and Piacenza: three cities that were founded around 2200 years ago along the Roman Via Emilia and are still the symbol of a land that is the standard-bearer of tradition, but also the model of a dynamic innovative drive. This very road is the line of communication connecting the path across a content-thriving Region as a red thread.

Here one meets past ages, Romanesque, Renaissance, Baroque, but also contemporary art with works by Santiago Calatrava and Renzo Piano. Here visitors can raise their eyes to admire the Castles of the Duchy, they can stop to experience the birthplace of some of the products that make the Food Valley unique worldwide.  And here they can contemplate nature, be immersed in the quiet sleepiness of the plain, in the thick fog that wraps the Po River, the crispy air of the sun-hit hills and the thriving green of the Apennines.

VISIT EMILIA: BETWEEN PARMA, PIACENZA AND REGGIO EMILIA

Parma, the little Paris with its cobbled streets in the city centre, with the old palaces and coloured façades that line up along the banks of the river crossing the city, becomes the starting point of a tour unveiling art masterpieces like the Farnese Theatre (Teatro Farnese), the Palatina Library (Biblioteca Palatina), the National Gallery (Galleria Nazionale), the Correggio Cloisters (Chiostri del Correggio) and the Chamber of Saint Paul (Camera di San Paolo), to end the visit with the Opera House (Teatro Regio) and the marvellous Square of the Cathedral (Piazza del Duomo). A tour that guides visitors to authentic flavours, to the pleasure of enjoying the local typical specialities, such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, Culatello di Zibello, and a nice meal to try the true Parmesan cuisine with its rich pasta courses, such as Tortelli and Anolini.

Moving out of the city, one can roam through the gems of the Low Lands.  Busseto with its Theatre and Roncole with the Birth House of Giuseppe Verdi are mementos of the life of the Maestro that end up in Villanova with the marvellous Villa Verdi. A heritage that pervades the atmosphere of the land where Verdi lived, villages and stories that embody and cherish the artist’s memory.

But the province of Parma means mountains too, with their rusticity and typical products: you cannot resist Porcini mushrooms from Borgotaro or black truffles from Fragno.

On the way between Reggio Emilia and Piacenza you will have the chance of visiting companies and coming in contact with different producers, but also of finding yourself in front of strongholds, castles and historical mansions: 50 from different ages such as Castello di Canossa, Torrechiara, Montechiarugolo, Bardi or Rivalta where you can enjoy the PDO deli-meats from Piacenza, Traditional Balsamic Vinegar, the renown “Pan del Re” and the irresistible Erbazzone or herb pie from Reggio Emilia.

PARMA INCOMING: A TOUR MEETING DESIRES

Discovering the heritage that surrounds these three cities also means living the experience that each one seeks in the right way.  This is what Parma Incoming has been doing for almost 20 years: tailoring customised tours that can meet the requests and desires of knowledge, enjoyment and discovery of the Emilia area.

Because there are never identical tours, because stopping at the right Osteria or Trattoria is not by chance, because the air resounds with the music of Verdi and Toscanini, because tourism must be slow, curious and careful to those tiny, marvellous details that only eyes starving for beauty can see.