Taste of Italy: Food Museums in Romagna

“Mulino sul Po” Bread Museum | Golenale area, Ro (FE)

On the right bank of the Po River, suspended between land and water, stands Ro, the ancient village originally dominated by the Este Family which houses the Museum of Bread, a structure created to spread the culture of typical Ferrara bread through the faithful reconstruction of an ancient water mill.

A museum that still represents the history of a deep bond with the territory, that for a long time has preserved the local populations from the serious problems of Pellagra thanks to the traditional technique of grinding wheat that produced a high protein flour.

The visit includes a practical demonstration of the operation of the old mill, to which you can add a tasting of the Ferrara‘s “Coppia“, the typical local bread along with other local dishes.

Eeel Museum | Comacchio (FE)

The Eel Museum in Comacchio, the famous lagoon city in the heart of the Po Delta Park, stands in an old structure for marinating the eel and still represents the deep bond between these peoples and the surrounding marine territory.

The exhibition itinerary offers an overview of the entire cycle of fish processing: the “Hall of Fires” with twelve fireplaces in which today fish is still worked, the “Calata“, where boats were moored with fish destined for the marinade and the “Sala degli Aceti“, preserved in its original state with vats and barrels.

A fascinating place with ancient smells, where you can return the history of the relationship between the Italian peoples and the sea, with an excellent information point where you can also buy typical products.

 A. Bonvicini Fruit Growing Museum | Massa Lombarda (RA)

In Massa Lombarda, in the fertile plain of Ravenna, an old farmhouse called “Cà rossa” welcomes this museum that wants to tell the golden age of fruit. In fact, from the end of the nineteenth century to the middle of the last century, the town of Massa Lombarda was one of the major centers producing peaches, apples, and pears.

Objects and portraits of workers trace a significant period for this territory, such as the transition from sharecropping to the cooperative, the role of the woman, who becomes a worker, and the establishment of the itinerant teaching of Agriculture.

Also on show are the first sorting machines and vintage promotional materials, symbols of modern specialized fruit-growing, up to the most refined products such as preserves and fruit juices.
The visit is allowed only by appointment.

Herbs Garden | Casola Valsenio (RA)

On the hills of Faenza, in the village of Casola Valsenio, there is a place dedicated to medicinal plants that offer an original route that allows to the understanding of how these were used in medicine, cosmetics, and cuisine.

The particular geographic and environmental conformation paired with the exposure of the slopes of Casola Valsenio offers throughout the year an enchanting spectacle in a continuous transformation of colors and perfumes.

The course is organized in three areas: a thematic garden, the actual museum with an educational function (laboratory, rooms for drying and storing herbs) and a smelling room where you can smell, within eight cabins, the extracts of officinal herbs.
An unmissable visit, especially on the occasion of “Erbeinfiore”, of the “Festival of Forgotten Fruits” and of the “Lavender Day”, special events in which the garden opens its secrets to the public.

Olive Oil open-air Museum | Brisighella (RA)

The museum dedicated to the Brisighella PDO Oil is located in the hills of the village of Brisighella and leads visitors to discover the precious plant, its care and its product, the olives.
An outdoor path, which counts seven stops reported by information niches and a close encounter with the plants up to the Social Mill.
In the fruit harvesting season (usually in November) it is easy to assist manually harvesting olives.

Brisighella Olive Oil | Ph. Giorgio Salvatori

Salt Museum | Cervia (RA)

The white gold, as traditionally used to call Salt, can now be discovered by visiting a warehouse and a large saltworks.
Its production, with a thousand-year history, has created an indissoluble union with this territory that still produces the famous sweet salt.

The outdoor section of the museum offers visitors the opportunity to attend the mechanical extraction, at the Parco della Salina in Cervia, and the manual in the ancient Salina Camillone.
Along the museum itinerary, the multimedia stations explain the chemistry and the physics of salt, the extraction of the mineral and the governance of the waters, while the final room collects images, texts and above all the real elements of the life of the salt workers.

An unmissable opportunity to visit is during the historic “Rimessa del sale”, historical re-enactment within the “Sapore di Sale” festival, which recalls the final moment of the salt production process, when it was stored in the warehouses.

A salt worker, Cervia – Ph. Giorgio Salvatori

Casa Artusi | Forlimpopoli (FC)

In Forlimpopoli relive the teachings of the illustrious Pellegrino Artusi, unanimously recognized as the father of Italian cuisine.

Casa Artusi is the first “living museum” dedicated to Italian domestic cuisine, open to everyone (chefs, amateurs, gourmets, gourmets, children) as long as they are moved by the love of wearing an apron, getting their hands dirty and sitting at the table.
Each visitor can create their own menu of visits by choosing a path linked to food with stops at the cooking school, the personal library of Pellegrino, the artusian restaurant, the civic library and the wine tasting rooms.

The best opportunity to visit Casa Artusi is during the Artusiana Festival, a perfect moment to experiment with the recipes of the famous book written by Artusi that deals with a simple and local cuisine with the search for quality raw materials and respect for the environment.

Fossa Cheese Museum “Pellegrini” | Sogliano al Rubicone (FC)

In the ancient Malatesta lands, close to the village of Sogliano al Rubicone there is the Fossa Cheese Museum, a place where to relive the history and tradition of a product with a very special processing still using the methods of the past.

The coffer that collects the traditions of the famous Fossa di Sogliano cheese at Rubicone PDO is the Fossa Pellegrini company, which stands where once stood the high walls of the Malatesta castle of Sogliano, of which only a few ruins remain today.

The visit to the museum, which preserves traces dating back to 1200 and 1400, is above all an olfactory experience. The custom wants that in early August the cheeses start to ripen in the pit, after the inevitable ritual of the preparation of the pit and its closure with wooden boards and sand, to be reopened almost three months later (in November, on the occasion of the day of Santa Caterina).

The best occasion to appreciate the unique flavor and fragrance of this delicacy is undoubtedly the “Fossa Cheese Festival in Sogliano al Rubicone”.