As our visit to Bologna was cut short two years ago, we didn’t have time to see some of the attractions nearby that we really wanted to. But this time, we prioritized visits to the Ferrari and Lamborghini factories near Modena as well as a balsamic vinegar facility (an Acetaia). Of course, we had some great food along the way, too, as we continued our roving retirement.
Disappointing: Our Visit To The Ferrari Factory
For me, Ferrari has always been the epitome of a sports car. The style and grace of their models have been mostly unmatched (I’m looking at you, Mondial). So, with great anticipation, we booked our Ferrari Factory tour of their birthplace near Modena. But I have to say I found the whole experience disappointing. The tour is conducted entirely on a bus, so all you get to see are the outsides of buildings. They don’t allow any pictures on the grounds, so I can’t even show you the outside of the dining hall. While the history provided by the tour guide was interesting, it certainly wasn’t worth the price of admission.
What I can show you pictures of are parts of the adjacent Ferrari museum. There was certainly a lot of interesting history and cool production models of F1 cars. I really enjoyed that part of the tour, which can be purchased separately for 27 €. Then you can gawk at the following in person.
The Lambo Factory Tour Delivers On The Promise
The day after our lame tour of the grounds for Ferrari, we scooted over to Lamborghini for the factory tour. While their museum was much less extensive, Lambo came through big-time by putting us directly on the production line. Their tour included an extensive, close-up floor visit of the highly advanced, robotic, Urus SUV production line. It was awesome seeing how this beast is manufactured. Diana was particularly impressed with the fully automated rig used to tilt the entire chassis at a 45-degree angle to permit detailed work underneath. IMHO, this is the tour to take.
Our guide also provided an interesting history of its namesake founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini. He started making tractors out of surplus WWII equipment, a business line that thrived and continues today for the company. Early on, Ferruccio took his earnings and bought a Ferrari that he loved to drive. Still, he felt the tranny on his street-legal car could be improved so he offered to partner with Enzo (Ferrari). Enzo basically replied, “Stay in your lane. You make tractors and I’ll make race cars. OK?”. Ferruccio balked at the snub and the rest is history. In addition to making some impressive hypercars, Lamborghini also provides a way better factory tour.
Great Dining Around Modena
Prior to our visit to the region, I reached out to our friend/chef, Joe, who runs a tiny but wonderful restaurant in Playa Del Carmen. Joe grew up in the nearby town of San Giovanni in Persiceto, so I figured he could help us find some good eats. Joe totally came through.
Joe’s first recommendation was for the restaurant at the Ferrari factory, Ristorante Cavallino, which is run by a local boy and world-famous chef, Massimo Bottura. Unfortunately, the restaurant was booked out for the day we visited, as was Massimo’s flagship restaurant, Osteria Francescana, which has been ranked number one in the world more than once. We did manage to snag lunch at Massimo’s more casual venue, Francescana 58. The food there was fabulous, so we don’t feel we missed out on anything because of not planning far enough ahead.
Another Yummy Restaurant
The next day, we hit another spot Joe recommended in his hometown of San Giovanni. The place is called Antica Drogheria Bergamini Duilio 1924. The Bergamini family has owned and operated this pharmacy-turned-bistro for the last century. The food there was really good and we were treated like family by the owners, who were close friends with Joe. Even without that connection, the old pharmacy décor was pretty cool. It was worth the side visit to us.
We also took the opportunity to check out Modena centro. It was your typical medium-sized, centuries old, Italian town. It was a pleasant visit, but we didn’t find anything there that was a must-see.
Real-Deal Balsamic Vinegar
Our last visit to Bologna included a tour where we learned about balsamic vinegar, but it wasn’t quite what we were looking for. This time, I wanted to visit an actual production facility or Acetaia.
To that end, Diana was able to find an Acetaia, Gambigliani Zoccoli, that would give us more substantial experience. This time, we saw an example of full-scale production of Balsamic vinegar. As part of this tour, we got an explanation of the production process and had a rather fancy tasting session including food that paired with the balsamic. I was a bit surprised the facility was reminiscent of a French wine chateau. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have been since they both grow and process grapes. It’s just one of them tries to turn the final product into vinegar while the other doesn’t.
Visiting the Acetaia
Acetaia Gambigliani Zoccoli is family-owned and currently run by Giorgio Gambigliani Zoccoli, son of the founder. Giorgio gave up his job as a lawyer to run the business about 30 years ago. He lives on-site and came by to discuss the product during our tasting, which was conducted on the bottom floor of his house. We tasted 12-year-old and 25-year-old AOP balsamic with a variety of foods and some prosecco, so we learned what some good pairings were. Overall, a very pleasant experience.
About Balsamic Vinegar
Some notes about balsamic. Balsamic vinegar describes a product that has varying degrees of acidity and sweetness. Real balsamic is typically dark red in color and gets thicker as it ages (evaporation occurs as part of the traditional process). Most balsamic sold in stores is quite a bit weaker than what we tasted in Modena. IGP balsamic is a designation of origin that typically says the product is in part from Modena, follows some basic process rules, and is aged at least 2 months in wooden barrels.
Conversely, AOP balsamic must be produced in a small area around Modena, is subject to stricter production rules, must pass a strict taste test, and is aged in a battery of open wooden barrels. AOP balsamic marked 12 years old is a vinegar blend where all of the contents are at least 12 years old. The same standard is applied to the 25-year-old blend, which is thicker and sweeter. The balsamic marketing organization also uses a proprietary bottle shop for AOP products, to help distinguish them in the market.
We were quite impressed with the AOP products we tasted and the whole operation. We didn’t have room to take any with us, but we did keep their info and recently ordered some AOP bottles directly from Gambigliani Zoccoli at a substantial discount over what we saw similar products selling for in regional stores. If you are interested in buying some, I will note I just got an offer from them today to do free shipping for Xmas 2024. They do make unique gifts.
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