To quote Shakespeare, “I am arrived in fruitful Lombardy, the pleasant garden of all Italy”. However we took a few hours to get there 😂
We enjoyed our final.breakfast on the terrace , the sun shining this morning. The little Italian sparrows really know a good thing when they see it, and the flock that flutter on the terrace were very keenly eyeing off my apple torte. I’ve succumbed to the Italian tradition of cake for breakfast! We also had a look at the hotel’s swimming pool, which had been popular with other guests.
However, all good things come to an end so at 10 am we checked out with the same kind lady that greeted us on arrival. We had been told our bill would be adjusted because of the room mixup , and boy did they adjust it! We came out 200 Euro better off, for a room that was almost identical . A good start to the day.
We drive North, heading clockwise around the top of the lake. Its such a pretty drive and as we passed through Malcesine ( where we had been only two days ago) we saw the spot where all the parasailers come in to land, in a strip of grassy parkland on the lakes edge, with boats on hand to rescue those that overshoot and have a watery arrival.
At Castelleto we turned off the lake road and climbed steeply up into the hills. The road was so narrow at one point that we had to wait for a green light to pass on. The towns at the top of the mountain looked like they had already closed for the end of the season, many of the hotels and restaurants shuttered their windows and the streets were quiet.
Our ears had popped on the way up… And they popped again as we dropped back down on the eastern side of the peaks …heading for Verona.
We found a very tight parking space in the underground parking lot nearest the town centre and set off on foot. In a few minutes we were in Piazza Bra standing right in front of Verona’s Roman arena. It was built in the 1st century just outside the original town walls and is the third largest in Italy. It bears a striking resemblance to the Colosseum in Rome.
We set off down one of the narrow lanes until we arrived at Porto Borsari. This grand white stone arch was the original entrance to Roman Verona and operated as a tollgate.
We walked through and down Corso Borsari, an interesting route as you can spot many relics of Verona’s Roman history and it’s mediaeval past as well.
Eventually we popped into the top of Piazza Erbe, a long busy space located where the original Roman Forum once stood. It’s a beautiful space, lined with ancient buildings, some still decorated with faded frescoes.
At the centre of the square is a bubbling fountain and a fountain has been in this same spot for 2000 years! There is a tower with a Venetian lion on the top, put there in 1405 by the conquering lot from that city. Also dominating the middle of the square in a red brick tower similar to those we had seen years ago in San Gimingnano. In earlier times, Verona had bristled with towers, owned by competing powerful families. Eventually the top dog Scaligieri family came out on top of the competition and wiped out all the towers belonging to the other families.
The centre of the square was occupied by several market stalls, selling souvenirs , food and some tempting leather handbags. I resisted the temptation, but it wasn’t easy!
By this stage we were ready for some lunch so we sat under the umbrella of a cafe on the sqaure and enjoyed a lovely salad and melon rapped in parma ham. We walked past the tower and under an arch which had a whale bone hanging under it, a gift from a merchant to the city. On into Piazza dei Signori, with it’s large statue of Dante in the centre. Beyond that are the huge tombs of the Scaligieri family , who changed the laws so they could be buried within the town walls.
Finally we came across the Church of Sante Ignazia with its beautiful painted ceiling .
We made our way back to the car and set of for the last stretch into Lombardy and Emilia Romagna. This area is famous for its production of the best Italian tomatoes, Parmigiano reggiano cheese, Parma Ham and aged Balsamic vinegar. our nights accommodation is at the Agriturismo Acetaia Serenity, a little south of Modena. This area is home to many Acetaia, which are Balsamic Vinegar producers. True Aged Balsamic vinegar of Modena can only come from this region and goes through a rigorous process of certification.
After checking in we walked down the path through the vineyard to meet our guide for a tour of the production area and to learn how balsamic vinegar is made. As we waited under the Olive tree we chatted to the other guests, a young couple from Boston and an Australian couple from Bathurst. After the usual exchange of “oh, where abouts in Sydney are you?” – we learned that their brother lived in Illawong!! It’s such a small world.
The Acetia tour was fascinating! We are here during the harvest and saw how the grapes are pressed ( red Lambrusco and green Trebbiano grapes ) and learned the incredibly intricate process of ageing the vinegar, how it is transferred through a series of oak, cherry and ash barrels for a minimum of 12 years. The Sereni family have been producing true vinegar for 4 generations and their attic was full of casks.
Next we moved on to the tasting room and were amazed to discover how different the vinegars tasted depending on what wood they had aged in and how long they had spent in the barrels. We also learned how to identify good from bad vinegar, particularly the stuff you buy in the supermarket.
TIPS: How to Choose A Good Blsamic Vinegar: Balsamic vinegar is produced in two ways, the Modern Method and the Traditional Method. Traditional has only one ingredient Cooked Grape Juice and if it’s passed the certification process should have a “DOP” label, good Modern vinegar should have only two ingedients , Cooked grape juice and red wine vinegar but the grape juice should be the first item on the list. They are not permitted to put the percentage of ingedients on the labels, but good modern vinegar should have a majority of grape juice. If the label includes the word “Invecchiato”, it has aged for at least 3 years. The dodgy stuff can be bottled in only 2 months. If the Modern vinegar has passed it’s quality certification it should have an “IGP” label. Now you know!
The Sereni family produce both Modern and Traditional balsamic, but they don’t sell to supermarkets, only local restaurants, shops and individual buyers from all over the world. We came away with a bottle of 25 year old traditional balsamic vinegar which was delicious!
We ended the evening with a fabulous dinner in their restaurant, where naturally , several menu items were made or garnished with their own products. We both had a wonderful beetroot risotto garnished with soft cheese and the same vinegar we had purchased. And I had homemade icecream drizzled with a blend of aged vinegar and honey, yum!
A great finish to the day. We are now most definitely, Balsamic Vinegar Snobs!