The city of Bologna and the surrounding Emilia-Romagna region have given the world some of its finest culinary treasures.
Here’s where to go.
I arrived with a molar that had fractured on a cough drop en route to Bostons Logan airport.
From left: Tagliatelle al ragù at Ristorante Cavallino, near Modena; Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore.Credit:Andrea Wyner
The concierge at my hotel procured an appointment with a dentist shortly after I landed.
For her, the matter was urgent.
In Bologna, she said, you have to eat!
From left: Acetaia San Giacomo’s Andrea Bezzecchi; Sofia Malagoli of Acetaia Malagoli Daniele, where she preserves traditional methods of making balsamico.Andrea Wyner
Variety, quality, and quantity, as Petrioli put it.
This region gave the world prosciutto di Parma,balsamico,Parmigiano cheese, and tortellini.
The trip was also a chance to connect with my daughter, Ava.
From left: Cattle grazing in the fields at Antica Corte Pallavicina; a fireplace at Antica Corte Pallavicina, a 14th-century castle turned hotel and restaurant outside Parma.Andrea Wyner
It would be a grave understatement to call what Florence-based co-head Jennifer Schwartz prepared for me an itinerary.
It was something else entirely: a seamless, culturally edifying, and wildly delicious moveable feast.
For eight days, I was always happy, and never hungry.
From left: One of Bologna’s famous porticos, or covered walkways—this one at Piazza Cavour; a fresco in the Basilica di Santo Stefano, in Bologna.Andrea Wyner
He is more than a celebrity with unbridled talent; he is an Emilian folk hero.
Bottura is unstoppableand was, during our visit, temporarily unavailable.
In and around Modena, there are now six Bottura restaurants, each representing a distinct vision.
From left: Casa Maria Luigia, as seen from the garden; a lounge area at Casa Maria Luigia, Massimo Bottura’s Modena inn.Andrea Wyner
But there is nothing sentimental about Botturas vision.
If youre just nostalgic about the dishes, they dont change, Gilmore explained.
Innovation has many permutations.
From left: A guest room at Bologna’s Hotel Brun; Bologna’s Paolo Atti & Figli bakery and pasta-maker.Andrea Wyner
These are the umami flavors of Modena, Gilmore said.
More than any other product,balsamicois synonymous with Modena.
In his tasting room, Bezzecchi filled little cups with inky-black, velvety samples redolent of prunes and molasses.
From left: Casa Mazzucchelli’s snail with zucchini, verbena, and mustard sauce; Ristorante Cavallino, which is named for Ferrari’s logo.Andrea Wyner
One, aged in juniper wood, tasted of the bitter berry.
For Bezzecchi, the most radical way to innovate was to go back to the drawing board.
My scientist daughter was riveted by her story.
From left: Simona Scapin slices her Artigianquality mortadella at Bottega Scapin; speck, pancetta, and mortadella at Artigianquality.Andrea Wyner
After earning a degree in civil engineering, Malagoli also pivoted.
I wanted to do my part to continue the traditions that made my country famous, she said.
If my generation doesnt act, our heritage will completely disappear.
From left: Nicoletta Madrigali in her vineyard on the outskirts of Bologna; Lara Gilmore in the garden of Casa Maria Luigia, the inn outside Modena she runs with her husband, chef Massimo Bottura.Andrea Wyner
Scapin is one of very few women in the manly meat business.
At first, people assumed I was at the food fair to fetch the coffee, she told us.
People today say, If Im going to eat meat, I want to know where it came from.
From left: Chef Jessica Rosval tends the wood-fired oven at Al Gatto Verde, one of the restaurants at Casa Maria Luigia; mare e melone, a dish of seaweed-smoked melon, seawater, and herbs at Al Gatto Verde.Andrea Wyner
I want to know what the pigs ate.
I want to know that they were not on antibiotics, she told me.
After visiting Scapin, we parked in the center of Bologna for lunch at the popular Trattoria Da Me.
From left: The Parmigiano aging room at Azienda Agricola Bertinelli; making tortellini at Modena’s Tortellante.Andrea Wyner
In 2016, newly out of culinary school, Rusconi relaunched the trattoria her grandparents had opened in 1937.
I wanted to translate our cooking into something more modern and international, she said.
The meat is not so harsh anymore, so why neutralize it?
From left: A table for two at Trattoria Da Me, in Bologna; crescentine, or fried dough, served with a trio of cheese-flavored gelati at Trattoria Da Me.Andrea Wyner
For Rusconi, the pillars of Bolognese cuisine do not change, but interpretations do.
To demonstrate, she brought us slices of fried dough calledcrescentinewith slices of mortadella: a typical Bologna antipasto.
When you eat this, she said, handing me a portion, you are in Bologna.
Next, she smeared acrescentinawith house-made gorgonzola ice cream.
When you eat it this way, you are at my place.
Every family has a traditional recipe, explained Professor Petrioli.
Which means that there is no traditional recipe at all.
Tradition, he went on, is by necessity adaptable.
Tradition can lead us into the future, Petrioli said.
(Poor Ava unexpectedly had an engineering geology exam to take, so we parted ways.)
Both producers are based in Parma, about an hour west of Bologna.
The resulting milk contributes to Parmigianos unique taste and texture.
We have been sustainable for centuries.
If we used a robot, we could salt up to a thousand legs per hour, she said.
Instead, Gallonissalatori,or professional salters, complete about 80 in an hour.
We never want to abandon this, as it is directly related to quality, she said.
Upon entering the tasting room, Galloni flicked on the lights with flair.
Our mother-daughter getaway had been facing setbacks, as Avas final exams kept interfering with our plans.
But on my last day in Bologna, my exhausted daughter and I could finally be together.
She was genuinely relaxed, and hungry.
I always get the lasagna, she said.
But for my last night, I was leaning toward the tagliatelle with ragu.
This is in our DNA in Bologna, and therefore we must protect it, Grandi told us.
At dinner, I showered my dish with fine Parmigiano cheese.
Casa Maria Luigia
Massimo Botturas Modena innis a former farmhouse with 25 chic rooms.
Grand Hotel Majestic gia Baglioni
Bolognas grande dame,located on colonnaded Via dellIndipendenza.
Hotel Brun
Asleek refugein the heart of Bologna.
Palazzo di Varignana
Thisformer palaceon 75 acres of rolling farmland outside Bologna has a 57-page spa menu.
Casa Mazzucchelli
Regional cuisine is reimagined atthis Michelin-starred spotjust outside Bologna.
Francheschetta58
Contemporary renditions of Modenese classics atthis inviting bistro.
La Taberna del Re Vallot
A Bologna student favorite with a lively streetside setting.
Ristorante Al Cambio
The citysclassic dishes,made with hyperlocal ingredients.
Ristorante Cavallino
This Bottura restaurantopposite from Ferrari HQ, in Maranello, serves a Ferrari-shaped zabaglione.
Trattoria Da Me
The place for tagliatelle al ragureal Bolognese.
Tenuta Santa Cecilia
Nicoletta Madrigali produces nine organic wines ona poetically lovely vineyardnear Bologna.
Five-night trips from $1,000 per person per day.
