Modena: Food, Fast Cars and Fashion
There is money in Modena. Money and style. A lot of Italy is struggling economically, especially in the south. But Modena is a hub of industry and you can tell there are a lot of people here in the upper brackets of wage earners. The days I was in Modena there were university graduations in the city. The graduates wear garlands of leaves on their heads instead of the box hats Australians and Americans wear. One young woman I spoke to would have preferred the hats – the other is always somehow more attractive, isn’t it? It’s also home to the military officers’ academy and the first and second years must wear their uniforms at all times, including on days off. They made for quite a sight strolling down the streets on Saturday afternoon as they went home for the weekend.
I have never felt the sparsity and practical focus of my carry-on wardrobe more than in Modena. In Rome and Paris there are hundreds of tourists wearing sneakers and chinos and bumbags – you can feel downright stylish in a pair of Birkenstocks! But not so in Modena. I’m sure there were some people in parachute tracksuits (still a thing in Italy), perhaps I just didn’t notice them, but all I saw were immaculately dressed men and women. Three-piece suits, scarves that were almost blankets thrown haphazardly over a shoulder, excellent eye wear, killer boots and a lot of leather. There seemed to be very few tourists in this city of 180,000 people. Which seems crazy, because it’s a beautiful city. The buildings are colourful and just the right amount of weathered and run down. The whole city centre is restricted to cars (only locals are allowed in) and the streets are ruled by bikes. I think life just feels a little slower, a little less harried and frenetic when bikes are the main form of transport in a city. Slow in a city feels different to slow in a town. The bikes somehow add to the overall feel of sophistication. Put that money, style and sophistication together and you end up with a very elegant city indeed. If you haven’t seen Master of None on Netflix, watch it. The first few episodes of season 2, entirely set in Modena, do a wonderful job of capturing the city. Plus, it’s a gorgeous, funny, sweet show.
Modena and the region it is located in, Emilia Romagna, are famous for a few things – Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan cheese), Balsamic Vinegar, Pavorotti, Lambrusco wine and fancy cars like Ferrari and Maserati. Unsurprisingly, I spent the vast majority of my time here eating, learning about food and walking the streets feeling under-dressed in an attempt to walk off the food. You can figure out the museums, cathedrals etc easily. I hope you can get a booking at Osteria Francescana, the 2016 number 1 restaurant in the world and number 2 in 2017 – I couldn’t and am still a bit sad. At least watch The Chef’s Table episode on Netflix about it, Massimo Bottura is fantastic! But I still had a great food experience in Modena…so let’s talk food.
- Parmigiano Reggiano at Hombre Agritourism – this farm and Parmigiano Reggiano operation on the outskirts of Modena is run by the family of the youngest Panini brother. The family made a tonne of money when they started a trading cards (as in cards of football players) business in the 1960s that went bananas. The farm is a fully closed production operation. Meaning other than buying in the rennet agent, everything is grown and produced on site. They own the cows, the dairy, the production facility, the warehouse. You can take a guided tour for €5 and taste some Parmigiano Reggiano at the end. After you’ve learned about how the most famous export of Emilia Romagna is made and quality controlled (like champagne, parmesan cheese can only bear the name Parmigiano Reggiano if it’s produced within the designated, protected areas of Emilia Romagna) you can head over to the open museum that houses the family’s private collection of Maseratis, old motorbikes and other vintage cars. I will not even pretend to talk about that with any knowledge. But they were cool to look at!
- Balsamic Vinegar at Giuseppe Giusti – Not far from Hombre is Giuseppe Giusti, a balsamic vinegar house which has been trading since 1605 and claims to be the oldest balsamic vinegar producer in the world. You can book an English speaking tour over email and learn about how balsamic vinegar is made, take a tour of the ageing rooms and factory and do a tasting. I had absolutely no idea how much is involved in the production of this vinegar I occasionally splash on a salad or complain about being swirled around a plate like it’s 1996. There is,of course, large scale production of the lighter vinegar we use for salads, but the aged, thick, sweet vinegar that sells for hundreds of euros per 100ml is all handcrafted. From the pressing of the grapes, to the evaporation and decanting process in the wood barrels to the bottling of the product 8, 12, 25 and more years after the grapes were initially pressed. I will never look at balsamic vinegar the same again! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was genuinely a fascinating tour.
- Aperitvo Hour at:
- Archer – Outdoor tables (with blankets available if you are travelling in the colder months) set out on a cobble-stoned lane across from some achingly cool shops which adds exponentially to the people watching. Inside is a wine enoteca and a few small tables. There are fairy lights, an interesting wine and cocktails list with friendly and knowledgeable staff. You can eat here, but I just stopped for a glass of dry, blush pink Lambrusco in the afternoon and spent a very happy hour. This glass changed all my Australian pre-conceptions of Lambrusco being sweet, horrible stuff you drink from a big bottle with raffia around the base of it. It was delicious.
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Spaccio Delle Carceri – A cocktail bar and casual restaurant with some tables out on the footpath and a big space inside. This place had a really great, different cocktail list and generous aperitivo snacks. It was a bit cool for school, but a pretty spot and I imagine great in summer with longer daylight hours.
- Coffee at:
- Caffeteria Giusti – set right near the Piazza Roma and at the top of one of the main shopping streets Via Luigi Carlo Farini, this is a fantastic people watching spot. Settle in at one of the outdoor tables to watch the parade of stylish Modena folk bustle about in the morning or call in for aperitivo hour and take in the passeggiata, the traditional evening stroll that Italians love. I was there on a Saturday afternoon and loved every second of the passing parade.
- Bar Cappuccino Da Angiolina – in a little side street, just across from the main entrance to Mercato Albinelli. Grab a quick espresso at the bar or sit down at one of the street side tables with the other people doing their daily market shop. A proper Italian coffee bar.
- Do it yourself at Mercato Ablinelli – watching Massimo Bottura, owner and chef of Osteria Francescana, stroll around his local market on The Chef’s Table meant this place was first on my list. It’s housed in a pretty low key building from the early 1900s and is reasonably small, but has loads of personality and is very much a working, local market. The sides of the building are lined with small shops and there are stalls throughout the middle selling fruit and vegetables, bread, meat, fish, cheese and all manner of things. I picked up some delicious roast pumpkin, prosciutto, Parmigiano Reggiano and clementines for dinner one night – simple, honest food.
- Dinner or lunch at:
- Trattoria Aldina – this was one of the most fun dining experiences I’ve had in Europe! Located just across from the market, up the top of some shops, this very unassuming trattoria was completely packed for Saturday lunch, with a line of people on the stairs waiting for a table when I arrived close to 1pm. But, being a solo diner, I was immediately taken to a shared table, sitting across from an art historian in town to see the art in the Cathedral. There was no real discussion about whether I was happy to join this man at a table for two for lunch or vice versa. It was obviously just how things worked! The man was finishing up his meal and then I was joined by a coach driver who had dropped her passengers off and was grabbing a quick lunch. Luckily they both spoke English and we chatted away whilst eating our food and watching the madness of the place. The waiters and waitresses were run off their feet and streams of people were coming and going to eat the simple, delicious food served in a room that I doubt had changed in 50 years. I had the best time!
- Trattoria da Danilo – lasagne is the pasta local to the Modena area and da Danilo do a good one! Book if you can, it’s a busy place.
- Osteria Antico Borgo – I was staying at a lovely B&B, Le Noci di Feo in Modena, just on the outskirts of town. In fact, Paulo pointed me in the direction of many of the restaurants I ate in over my time in Modena and was kind enough to make reservations for me. Love a local recommendation! I was just lucky that this gorgeous restaurant was across the street from Le Noci di Feo because I had the best tortelloni of my life! Filled with sweet, roast pumpkin and topped with an amaretto crumb, every bite was pure heaven. The charming waiter didn’t speak a word of English, the menu was in Italian, it was filled with locals and it was a total surprise. I just love those meals. I can still remember exactly how that pasta tasted. Sublime. It’s likely to be the first thing I try to recreate when autumn comes around again!
