L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 6 F or the longest time, B o l o g n a h a s b e e n h a p p i l y k n o w n a s "The Learned," "The Fat," or "The Red." U n t i l a f e w m o n t h s a g o , however, the city seemed to have lost her fame of capitale dei tortellini and of traditional delis with salumi hanging from the ceiling, to get that of city of Taglieri, that is, of cheap, poor quality food contaminated by flavors that little had to do with Italy's culinary tradition. Today, Bologna has got her old role b a c k , t h a n k s t o t h e F I C O (Fabbrica Italiana Contadina, or Italian Country Factory) Eataly World project, the largest park in the world dedicated to the I t a l i a n f o o d a n d a g r i c u l t u r e industry. The park will open on the 1 5 t h o f N o v e m b e r a n d w i l l include two hectares of cultivat- ed fields, forty factories, forty five restaurants, twelve teaching rooms, a theater, a cinema, a one thousand seats congress center and six carousels. The project is also supported by four universi- ties. In other words, an enormous container that Oscar Farinetti, head of Eataly, defines "a large amusement park with all the best the 'Made in Italy' pro- duces and represents: restau- rants, learning opportunities, agriculture." The FICO Eataly W o r l d p r o j e c t i s j u s t l i k e a twenty thousand square meters farm, where cultures are devel- o p e d a n d a n i m a l s f a r m e d , i n c l u d i n g t w o t h o u s a n d s o f Italy's most representative agri- cultural varieties and two hun- dred Italian farm animal species like Romagna's Mora piglets, Sardinian sheep, Frisian cows, along with goats, chickens and hens. A true "Noah's Ark" of our own biodiversity, where visitors can understand Italian agricul- ture while admiring centuries old fruit and olive trees, cereal fields and even a truffle search- ing ground and a hop-garden. Indoors, within the Fabbrica Italiana Contadina, the world can learn how our best loved delicacies are born. The project includes eighty thousand square meters of factories, entirely open to the public, where the procedures behind the creation o f s o m e o f o u r m o s t i c o n i c products are shown: Prosciutto di Parma and other local cold cuts like mortadella, but also those made with Cinta Senese and Nero Calabrese pigs, along w i t h P a r m i g i a n o R e g g i a n o , Grana Padano, Squacquerone, breads, dry and fresh pastas, stone ground flours, rice, sauces and preserves. There's more, because visitors can also learn about eggs and fish processing, coffee roasting, chocolate and traditional candy making and, last but not least, oil, wine and beer production. The pavilion of the future At the heart of the Park a cir- cular pavilion, named Area del F u t u r o , w i l l p r o p o s e a f u l l immersion itinerary in the world of tank farming, where all will have the opportunity to grow their own food thanks to aug- mented reality. Visitors will be a b l e t o p l a n t t h e i r s e e d s o f choice in this indoor orchard and monitor their growth day by day until picking time comes, thanks to the Eataly World. A few months ago, we inter- viewed Carlo Ratti, founder of the organization bearing his name and lecturer at the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology: "Walking through this pavilion is just like walking through time w h i l e w a t c h i n g h o w p l a n t s grow. At the entrance, you'll find seeds and sprouts only to meet fully developed plants in a MANUELA CARACCIOLO Bologna, capital of rediscovered flavors and "Made in Italy" culinary culture matter of meters." In the city In the meanwhile, during this early fall, confirmation that con- solidates the efforts made dur- ing the summer arrives in the città dei portici, bringing along n e w i n t e r e s t i n g a c t o r s , e v e n though large investments (such as those that were used to update Palazzo Bega) will arrive only in a few months. Three main cen- ters are to be recreated with the world of food in mind; the his- t o r i c a l E l i o s P r i n t i n g w i l l become Libra, a reality dedicat- e d t o h e a l t h y e a t i n g . A t t h e beginning of November, the sta- b l e s i n P i a z z a V e r d i w i l l b e renamed Scuderia, and will offer a mix of traditional cooking, u n d e r t h e s u p e r v i s i o n o f I l Tortellino, and new approaches to fermentation. Finally, a new ambitious café will open in the Mondadori Megastore of Via d'Azeglio, with the collaboration of Gabriele Spinelli from Dolce e Salato. But this, only at the beginning of 2018. More about special projects: recently the city has welcomed another protagonist of regional cuisine, Alberto Faccani, leader of Cesenatico's restaurant Mag- nolia. In Bologna, he's been run- ning I Conoscenti, located under V i a M a n z o n i ' s a r c a d e s . T h e c o o k i n g i s s o p h i s t i c a t e d y e t informal, and proposes tapas to enjoy along with the many cock- tails on the menu: "cocktails and food" is, indeed, the restaurant's byline. I l P a p p a g a l l o , h i s t o r i c a l name of Bologna's restoration, in Piazza della Mercanzia, fol- lowed a similar route and rein- vented itself as a bistrot serving exceptional local salumi. A new entry in the city, on the other hand, is a well established Rimi- ni reality: Bio's Kitchen, a pro- ject focusing on organic produce a n d v e g a n a n d v e g e t a r i a n options, which is about to open in Via Galliera. It'll also be a pizzeria. Export Exports of Bologna's amaz- ing culinary tradition and prod- ucts are all US oriented. Emilia- Romagna has been among the first regions to have become active on American shores with t h e c r e a t i o n o f F o o d V a l l e y dell'Emilia-Romagna, a project that sits the world to the kitchen table by exhibiting its own prod- ucts in the best of international windows, New York City. From Parmigiano Reggiano to Pro- sciutto di Parma, from balsamic vinegar to piadina romagnola, f r o m M o d e n a ' s c o t e c h i n o t o Bologna's mortadella, all the way to filled pastas, wines and Cervia salt. All great names and brands, symbols of a traditional w a y t o p r o d u c e f o o d t h a t remains synonym with quality and excellence, from the orchard to the table. Emilia-Romagna is the first area in Europe for DOP and IGP products (forty four), a guarantee of their quality and authenticity. I t i s a l s o h o m e t o O s t e r i a Francescana, best world restau- rant in 2016, its food defined by Forbes "Italy's greatest gastro- nomic treasure," and protagonist, last year, of the first Settimana della cucina Italiana nel mondo. FICO stands for Fabbrica Italiana Contadina, and aims at bringing Italian gastronomic tradition back in Bologna's heart A look at how the the Pavilion of the Future will look like NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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