Emilia-Romagna by food: Modena, Parma and three cheeses, hams and vinegars kept by law
- Published
- 30 September 2026
- Reading
- 5 min read
- Where
- Bologna, Modena and Parma, Italy
- Prices checked
- 29. Sep 2026.
Three cities on one railway line and three products with a protected name. This is the order to take them in, and what you can actually see on the plate and on the rind.
Emilia-Romagna is easiest to eat by train: Bologna, Modena and Parma sit on the same line, with 30 min between Bologna and Modena and about 32 min between Modena and Parma. Every stop has one product with a protected name waiting, and each is recognisable by something you can see: a small glass bottle, a dotted lettering on a rind, a crown branded into a ham.
The balsamic that waits 12 years
Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP is a thick, dark vinegar of cooked grape must, but the thickness is not what you pay for. You pay for time: at least 12 years of ageing for the affinato label, at least 25 for extravecchio. That is why it is sold only in a 100 ml bottle designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, one shape, the same for every producer. The acetaie, where the vinegar is kept in barrels, open to visitors only by reservation, so the visit is arranged in advance.
Parmigiano, one wheel at a time
The train carries on to Parma, and to a cheese whose origin is tightly fenced in. Parmigiano Reggiano DOP may only be made in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, the part of Bologna left of the Reno river and the part of Mantua right of the Po. The ingredients are milk, salt and rennet, with no additives, and ageing lasts at least 12 months. The rind shows it to the naked eye: dotted lettering reading “PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO”, with the DOP mark and the name of the Consorzio Tutela. A piece with that rind, at a shop, costs €2.40–2.80 (100 g) for a hundred grams, aged twenty-four months.
The ham with a crown
Prosciutto di Parma DOP has a recipe that fits in one sentence: pork and sea salt, no additives. The tradition comes from Langhirano, near Parma, the consortium has protected it since 1963, and the mark that identifies it is a ducal crown. In a restaurant it comes as a portion for €10 (restaurant portion, 24+ months), alongside torta fritta, warm and puffed like a hollow pillow.
What goes with it
Parma on a plate is not only the delicatessen counter. Torta fritta, dough that puffs into a hollow pillow in the oil, is eaten warm with ham, while tortelli d'erbetta, filled pasta with chard, and anolini in broth are the filled pasta eaten here. For a meal that fits inside one day in town, a basket of torta fritta costs €6.50 (al cestino, with a choice of cured meat), and the rest is ordered at menu prices.
Italy, in brief
What now
If this sounds like your trip, start here.
Bologna
→Sixty-two kilometres of covered pavement, and students since 1088
Bologna in 2 days
→Day one is the loop around the square and the towers, day two the climb along the world's longest portico to…
Day trips from Bologna
→Balsamic in Modena, dairies around Parma, mosaics in Ravenna, the walls of Ferrara — and Florence in a day.
Where to stay in Bologna
→Three different reasons for three different areas: student noise near the university, quiet by the station…
What Bologna costs
→Bologna is cheap to look at — the porticoes, the square and the Quadrilatero cost nothing, and the biggest…
The Bologna you miss: a canal window and seven churches in one
→A little window onto a canal, seven churches in one and a wooden anatomical theatre — places the main axis…
What to eat in Bologna
→Ragù with tagliatelle, tortellini in broth, and wine in an osteria where you bring your own food from the…
The best time to visit Bologna
→Bologna sits on a plain with no sea nearby, so summers are humid and warm. The porticoes keep the way dry in…
Italy
→The cities on the high-speed line are an hour or two apart; the coast, Matera and the Tuscan hills lie off it
The Tuscany everyone photographs isn't in any town
→That postcard hill with the cypress row and one house at the top has no name on the map — just GPS…
Rome for a weekend: what we spent, and what we would change
→"Rome for a weekend" is a phrase everyone says easily. This isn't a guide but the bill from one actual trip…
Pompeii and Herculaneum from Naples: what fits into one day
→All three sit half an hour by train from Naples, which is exactly why the day gets overloaded. Here is which…
Front row for the next trip
Leave your email and we'll let you know when a new destination or story goes up.