THE CALCIO DIARIES PART FOUR: THE FLAVOUR AND FOOTBALL OF EMILIA ROMAGNA

January 3, 2025

“I spent over a week in this amazing part of Italy, where the food was incredible and the football was plentiful.”

THE CALCIO DIARIES: EPISODE 4

This week Joseph O’Sullivan the Stanley Tucci of football exploration traverses the glorious region in search of football and plenty of food.

EMILIA ROMAGNA

The Emilia Romagna region of Italy was effortlessly dissected by Stanley Tucci in that bloody good BBC series you may or may not have seen. Inspired by his journey and his lovely outfits, we decided to follow in his tracks but with a ‘futbolised’ twist.

Our tour involves eating and drinking like Tucci himself while exploring the cities in this region, particularly their football culture. Modena, Parma, and Bologna each offer a unique taste of life in Emilia Romagna.

This stretch of land literally has the perfect climate to grow and nurture some of the finest ham, cheese and wine on the planet.

The people of this region seem to live effortlessly, as if unaware of how remarkable their way of life truly is. Everything you might have imported from here, like Parma ham or cheese, tastes ten times better when enjoyed locally.

The streets of these cities come alive in the evenings, filled with people sharing drinks and tasting boards.

A lovely thing about food in Italy is that it seems to transcend the class divide; at least a lot more than in other places.

Yes, the classes will always have their budgets and perhaps “better” quality food or more frequent dining experiences. Still, here the raw materials are so rich, and the food culture is so fervent, that every man, woman and child seems well educated on what is on their plate.

National standards of authenticity have to be clearly displayed on food packaging and some of the working families’ homemade sauces go head-to-head with any top-end restaurant.

Yes, each city has this foodie vibe in common but they all very much have their own feel and USP: Bologna is more bohemian, the home to the oldest university in the Western world is brimming with tourists and young people, rebellious movements and dingy back alley bars.

In fact, I have heard it said that ‘Bologna is the girl who puts on a long dress and dances with you until the early hours of the morning. Then, the next day, she sits with you on the pavement eating pizza with a beer in her hand, watching the world go by. She is everything.’

It is friendly and fun; finally, it has European football back in town too. This mix makes for a fantastic two or three-day trip, so get booking.

Famously Bologna is home to the famous ‘ragu’ meat sauce that we have come to know as bolognese. You won’t go too wrong if you stop by ‘Trattoria del Tempo Buono’ for a bowl of the good stuff.

Parma and Modena are smaller cities again; both of their old town centres are less touristy and do feel more posh than that of their university-town neighbour, but they aren’t extortionate in price at all.

Parma is known of course for its prosciutto (parma ham) and Modena is the birthplace of balsamic vinegar. It is also the home of Luciano Pavarotti and Enzo Ferrari, so we will let them off for spending so much time in Serie B and not being quite as incredible a football town as the rest.

Emilia Romagna is also home to ‘Lambrusco,’ a sparkling red wine that is very popular in these parts. It comes with a rare mix of grape and fizz that is fit to start any evening in Italy.

Parma may well be the proudest football city of the three. Of course, they still dwell on the relatively recent 90s when it comes to calcio.

How could you not be nostalgic about a time when the likes of Cannavaro, Crespo, Chiesa, Thuram, Buffon, Zola, Asprilla and so many more football legends all wore the same delightful yellow and blue striped jersey?

Their stadium has a wonderful museum that shows off their trophies and takes you back in time to those days, and it’s also just a short walk from the old town centre.

Bologna of course is the team of the hour in these parts, and Modena has taken a backseat in the calcio world but has plenty of other things to shout about, as we mentioned.

I spent over a week in this amazing part of Italy, where the food was incredible and the football was plentiful.

It’s another region that has its own look and feel, its distinct cuisine, and a handful of clubs which means you can visit multiple games together over one long weekend, so get booking.

The fact that all of these cities are such a short train ride away and yet they all provide their own beautifully distinct experience makes this one an absolute no-brainer.