The Art of the Feast

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0:00:02 > 0:00:05'I'm Andrew Graham Dickson and I'm an art historian.

0:00:05 > 0:00:07'I'm Giorgio Locatelli and I'm a chef.

0:00:08 > 0:00:12'We are both passionate about my homeland, Italy.'

0:00:12 > 0:00:17The smells, the colour, this is what food is all about for me.

0:00:17 > 0:00:22'The rich flavours and classic dishes of this land are in my culinary DNA.

0:00:22 > 0:00:24'And this country's rich layers of art

0:00:24 > 0:00:28'and history have captivated me since childhood.'

0:00:28 > 0:00:32It's meant to make you feel as if you are being whirled up to heaven.

0:00:32 > 0:00:36'We're stepping off the tourist track and exploring Italy's

0:00:36 > 0:00:40'Northern regions of Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Piedmont.'

0:00:40 > 0:00:44'It's part of Italy that's often overlooked, but it drives

0:00:44 > 0:00:47'the whole country, and I want to show off its classic dishes.

0:00:47 > 0:00:49'Not to mention its hidden legacy

0:00:49 > 0:00:52'of artists, designers, intellectuals.'

0:00:52 > 0:00:54One of the world's great builders.

0:00:54 > 0:00:56Bellissima.

0:00:56 > 0:00:58'This week we are in Emilia-Romagna,

0:00:58 > 0:01:02'the birthplace of modern Italian cuisine.

0:01:02 > 0:01:05'And home to some of Italy's most fascinating artists

0:01:05 > 0:01:07'and powerful dynasties.'

0:01:16 > 0:01:19We are beginning our journey to this wonderful region

0:01:19 > 0:01:21in Bologna, its capital.

0:01:23 > 0:01:26I first came here with my parents when I was about ten years old

0:01:26 > 0:01:30and we must have visited just about every church in the city

0:01:30 > 0:01:33and everywhere we went, we bought postcards of the altar pieces,

0:01:33 > 0:01:36the sculptures, the paintings, and I always remember going home

0:01:36 > 0:01:39and sitting at the kitchen table with my mum for about a week,

0:01:39 > 0:01:41off and on, we made this scrap book.

0:01:41 > 0:01:44Maybe it was my very first lesson in art history.

0:01:49 > 0:01:51I'm looking forward to see all these producers,

0:01:51 > 0:01:54to put some faces on these people that

0:01:54 > 0:01:57I talk to through the telephone, you know, ordering stuff.

0:01:57 > 0:02:00Cos, you know, our menu always has something

0:02:00 > 0:02:02that comes from this place.

0:02:06 > 0:02:10Since the Middle Ages, Bologna has been known by three nicknames,

0:02:10 > 0:02:15la dotta, la grassa e la rossa - the learned, the fat and the red.

0:02:17 > 0:02:22'Renowned for its striking red building, militant politics and rich

0:02:22 > 0:02:26'cuisine, Bologna represents quality and taste, not to mention power.'

0:02:30 > 0:02:32I love the statue.

0:02:32 > 0:02:34And you know, for me, this is really Bologna,

0:02:34 > 0:02:38these big breasts she's holding there. Neptune, the abundance.

0:02:38 > 0:02:42- The abundance.- Oh.- It's a symbol of the fact that Bologna has always

0:02:42 > 0:02:45thought of itself as a rich city, a powerful city.

0:02:45 > 0:02:49You know, we can get Giambologna, the greatest sculptor of his age

0:02:49 > 0:02:52to come here and create our Neptune Fountain.

0:02:53 > 0:02:55You can feel Bologna's sense of its own power

0:02:55 > 0:02:58as the capital of Emilia-Romagna here.

0:02:58 > 0:03:01It's the architecture of power, the scale is enormous.

0:03:01 > 0:03:04And it's not only that, it's also that you know the culture,

0:03:04 > 0:03:06I mean, the culture of food is incredible.

0:03:06 > 0:03:08You know Parma ham is

0:03:08 > 0:03:11more recognisable than the Italian flag, isn't it?

0:03:11 > 0:03:13It's more representative of Italy than...

0:03:13 > 0:03:15Parma ham and Parmesan cheese.

0:03:15 > 0:03:16Parmesan cheese,

0:03:16 > 0:03:20you know, all produced in a very traditional, artisan way.

0:03:28 > 0:03:31Tradition is important in Bologna,

0:03:31 > 0:03:34a city which likes to remember its past.

0:03:34 > 0:03:37At its heart is the oldest university in the world,

0:03:37 > 0:03:40established in 1088.

0:03:40 > 0:03:42"The home of la dotta, the learned."

0:03:45 > 0:03:49'Enrico Brizzi, one of my favourite Italian authors, studied here

0:03:49 > 0:03:51'and he's agreed to show us round.'

0:03:51 > 0:03:52This is where you belong, Andrew.

0:03:52 > 0:03:53Wow.

0:03:58 > 0:04:02- It's fantastic. You just come in off the street like that.- Yeah.

0:04:12 > 0:04:17The most influential families, the most wealthy family all

0:04:17 > 0:04:22around Europe send their children for a tour of the main universities

0:04:22 > 0:04:26and it was almost compulsory to pass from here.

0:04:26 > 0:04:31Have some time in Bologna. Are these their graduation plaques?

0:04:31 > 0:04:34Yeah. The graduated students left here

0:04:34 > 0:04:37the coat of arms of their families.

0:04:38 > 0:04:43'In 1562, Bologna began a massive remodelling of the city centre,

0:04:43 > 0:04:47'including an expansion of the Cathedral of San Pietro.

0:04:47 > 0:04:50'When the Pope realised, with some alarm, that the cathedral was

0:04:50 > 0:04:54'destined to become bigger than St Peter's and the Vatican itself,

0:04:54 > 0:04:58'the money was diverted to these magnificent university buildings

0:04:58 > 0:05:03'and it gave birth to a new type of pilgrim to Bologna - students.'

0:05:03 > 0:05:06You know, Andrew, what I think, as well, is that all the students come

0:05:06 > 0:05:10here and this is not only important what they bring in and learn,

0:05:10 > 0:05:14but also what they take away. Of the colour of the building but...

0:05:14 > 0:05:17'These hallowed halls have seen the likes of Dante, Petrarch

0:05:17 > 0:05:20'and Thomas a Beckett pass through them.

0:05:20 > 0:05:24'And there's one room which I'm particularly excited about seeing.

0:05:24 > 0:05:29'A true example of how art can inspire learning.'

0:05:33 > 0:05:35Wow!

0:05:35 > 0:05:38This is one of the great things, not just to Bologna,

0:05:38 > 0:05:40this is one of the great things in the world.

0:05:40 > 0:05:44It's the only really authentic surviving early, early,

0:05:44 > 0:05:48anatomy theatre, and that is a Renaissance-coffered ceiling.

0:05:48 > 0:05:51And in the middle we've got Apollo with his lyre, pointing down,

0:05:51 > 0:05:54the God of Medicine pointing straight down,

0:05:54 > 0:05:58probably to the hand of the anatomy teacher as he demonstrates

0:05:58 > 0:06:00to his students how to cut up a body.

0:06:08 > 0:06:11I feel a bit presumptuous doing this but I think it's the only

0:06:11 > 0:06:15way to understand the space, which is a theatre of learning.

0:06:15 > 0:06:17He loves it up there.

0:06:17 > 0:06:21Yeah, because the Professor in ancient times was also an actor.

0:06:21 > 0:06:24- Right.- Yeah, absolutely. - Who is performing lessons.

0:06:24 > 0:06:28Absolutely, teaching was a form of rhetoric and you feel that up here.

0:06:28 > 0:06:30- My job would have been...- Giorgio, come up here, Giorgio, come on.

0:06:30 > 0:06:33- My job would have been to be down here, I'll tell you.- No.

0:06:33 > 0:06:36Sweeping up the blood and the entrails left over.

0:06:38 > 0:06:40And so now you're on the spot

0:06:40 > 0:06:44and you've got all the figures of the past, Galen, Hippocrates,

0:06:44 > 0:06:48they are all caught in a frozen moment of their teaching.

0:06:48 > 0:06:53And this canopy on the top of us is an allegorical figure of anatomy

0:06:53 > 0:06:58but it's supported by these grizzly figures of skinned men.

0:06:58 > 0:06:59Yes.

0:06:59 > 0:07:01So you can see the tendons.

0:07:01 > 0:07:04Yes, and the muscle and everything. This is incredible.

0:07:04 > 0:07:06He's even got a peeled penis.

0:07:07 > 0:07:09You don't see many of those in world art.

0:07:13 > 0:07:17- See that figure at the back?- Uh-huh. - Do you know what he's holding?- No.

0:07:17 > 0:07:24He is holding a human nose because that is Tagliacozzi,

0:07:24 > 0:07:27- the founding father of cosmetic surgery who apparently...- He didn't!

0:07:27 > 0:07:31He did, he did the first nose job, so that's why he's holding a nose.

0:07:31 > 0:07:34The nose. Oh, my God. How many years ago?

0:07:34 > 0:07:37How many ears ago? How many noses ago?

0:07:39 > 0:07:43- Madonna.- Enrico, I have to say thank you, it's just a masterpiece.

0:07:45 > 0:07:48'It's not hard to see how Bologna earned its nickname

0:07:48 > 0:07:50'la dotta, the learned.

0:07:50 > 0:07:53'Walking through these stunning buildings,

0:07:53 > 0:07:57'the sense of them as living places of learning really is striking.

0:07:57 > 0:08:01'They give the whole city a sense of life and vivacity.

0:08:01 > 0:08:05'But just like an army, students and their teachers march

0:08:05 > 0:08:09'on their stomachs and it's time to discover a true Bolognese meal.'

0:08:09 > 0:08:12You know what? With all this culture and everything, I think that,

0:08:12 > 0:08:17you know, now we should just explore the second bit.

0:08:17 > 0:08:20Enough dotta, enough intelligentsia,

0:08:20 > 0:08:23let us work out something about the grassa.

0:08:27 > 0:08:30'You can't come to Bologna without eating the king of Italian dishes -

0:08:30 > 0:08:36'pasta ragu - a dish that's known worldwide by another name -

0:08:36 > 0:08:39'spaghetti Bolognese.

0:08:39 > 0:08:41'In Italy, we are famous for our pasta,

0:08:41 > 0:08:44'and Bologna is the place to come from fresh egg pasta,

0:08:44 > 0:08:48'which artisans here turn into a work of art.

0:08:48 > 0:08:52'No wonder this city is known as la grassa, the fat one.'

0:08:52 > 0:08:57So here, the same attention to detail that is paid to art

0:08:57 > 0:09:00and to music, you know, is paid to food.

0:09:00 > 0:09:03And so here you are, look, this is all made by hand.

0:09:03 > 0:09:04Look at what it says there,

0:09:04 > 0:09:07"Tagliatelle ve le tagliamo su misura."

0:09:07 > 0:09:09They cut the tagliatelle how long you want it,

0:09:09 > 0:09:12so if you want heavy sauce, short tagliatelle,

0:09:12 > 0:09:16if you have a light sauce, like a pesto or tomato sauce then

0:09:16 > 0:09:20long tagliatelle, two fork or one fork they call it, you know.

0:09:20 > 0:09:21So this is tailor-made pasta?

0:09:21 > 0:09:26But not only. Look, it says here, "Tortellini per ingannare i mariti."

0:09:26 > 0:09:27To fool your husband.

0:09:27 > 0:09:30Cos you take them home and tell your husband that you made it yourself.

0:09:30 > 0:09:33- Per ingannare i mariti.- Yeah.

0:09:33 > 0:09:35Buona sera, signora Edda.

0:09:35 > 0:09:36Buona sera.

0:09:36 > 0:09:38Che piacere vedere la. TRANSLATION

0:09:40 > 0:09:42Ma ciao, come stai?

0:09:44 > 0:09:47You don't come in here just to buy stuff.

0:09:47 > 0:09:50It's not like a fuel station that you come in

0:09:50 > 0:09:53and you fill up the car and go. You talk to them, they talk to you.

0:09:53 > 0:09:57Look, there's a chair, you can sit down if you're tired.

0:09:58 > 0:10:00'Food here is a living tradition.

0:10:00 > 0:10:03'This shop has been in the same family for 130 years.'

0:10:07 > 0:10:09Andiamo far un po di pasta?

0:10:09 > 0:10:11It's obviously very serious business, this pasta, Giorgio?

0:10:11 > 0:10:13It is very serious.

0:10:13 > 0:10:16'This is the perfect place to get the tagliatelle for dinner tonight.'

0:10:16 > 0:10:20This is like a cathedral. You're entering now the inner chamber.

0:10:20 > 0:10:21Prego, prego!

0:10:23 > 0:10:27When you eat spaghetti or when you eat dried pasta,

0:10:27 > 0:10:30the one that comes from the south, that's durum wheat.

0:10:30 > 0:10:33- Mm-hm.- OK, so durum wheat contains a lot of protein.

0:10:33 > 0:10:36This, because in the north, the type of soil,

0:10:36 > 0:10:38they just only grow soft wheat.

0:10:38 > 0:10:42So the soft wheat hasn't got any protein in it.

0:10:42 > 0:10:45So the al dente won't be there, the pasta will be very mushy.

0:10:45 > 0:10:48OK, so by putting in the eggs, which contains a lot of protein

0:10:48 > 0:10:52in the eggs, you're going to achieve that al dente texture.

0:10:52 > 0:10:57This is like a...an incredible expression of how, actually,

0:10:57 > 0:11:02the land determine what you have on the plate.

0:11:02 > 0:11:05You know, all the world eats this spaghetti Bolognese.

0:11:05 > 0:11:08Here when they make the Bolognese in Bologna, they don't know

0:11:08 > 0:11:11what spaghetti Bolognese is. Nobody eats spaghetti Bolognese.

0:11:11 > 0:11:13No Bolognese. Noi solo facciamo.

0:11:15 > 0:11:17So how come, the world over, people eat spaghetti Bolognese?

0:11:17 > 0:11:21- Because the Americans, you know. - Oh, OK.

0:11:30 > 0:11:32Have you seen this?

0:11:32 > 0:11:35This is called mattarello.

0:11:35 > 0:11:38Signora Edda, a cosa servi il mattarello? Per due cose no?

0:11:38 > 0:11:39Per il marito.

0:11:39 > 0:11:40Two things.

0:11:40 > 0:11:43To make the pasta and when your husband come back drunk,

0:11:43 > 0:11:45you wait behind the door

0:11:45 > 0:11:47and ba-da-boom!

0:11:47 > 0:11:50And apparently they say that if you don't know why you hit him,

0:11:50 > 0:11:52he knows why you hit him.

0:11:52 > 0:11:53Il marito lo conosce.

0:11:53 > 0:11:57Yeah, it's the husband knows this one very well apparently.

0:11:58 > 0:12:01- Is that the right length for your...?- That's perfect.

0:12:07 > 0:12:10No pomodoro, eh.

0:12:10 > 0:12:13- She said don't use tomatoes. - Don't use tomatoes!

0:12:13 > 0:12:16Buonapetito.

0:12:16 > 0:12:17Don't drop it.

0:12:24 > 0:12:27'I'm leaving Andrew for a couple of hours to buy some other

0:12:27 > 0:12:29'ingredients for dinner tonight.'

0:12:35 > 0:12:36Oh, yes.

0:12:36 > 0:12:37Tre o quarto carotti.

0:12:43 > 0:12:45Grazie.

0:12:47 > 0:12:49'My ragu is based on a classic recipe,

0:12:49 > 0:12:53'written by Pellegrino Artusi in 1891.'

0:12:53 > 0:12:54- Buongiorno.- Buongiorno.

0:12:54 > 0:12:58'His book, Science In The Kitchen And The Art Of Eating Well

0:12:58 > 0:13:02'is my Bible. In fact, here in Italy, it's everybody Bible.'

0:13:02 > 0:13:04Questa e per la ragu antiqua?

0:13:04 > 0:13:07A l'antiqua. Quello di Artusi.

0:13:07 > 0:13:08Esatto. Fantastico.

0:13:08 > 0:13:11Senza pomodoro e!

0:13:11 > 0:13:13Un pocatino?

0:13:13 > 0:13:14E ci vuole e.

0:13:14 > 0:13:15Ci la mettiamo?

0:13:15 > 0:13:18Ci la mettiamo un pocatino. Una punto cosi.

0:13:25 > 0:13:28'While Giorgio focuses on the local cuisine,

0:13:28 > 0:13:31'I want to find a delicacy of my own, of the artistic type.

0:13:37 > 0:13:40'I'm on the hunt for one of Bologna's hidden gems.

0:13:40 > 0:13:44'Every major Italian town has a Pinacoteca Nazionale -

0:13:44 > 0:13:47'National Art Gallery - which houses the work of local artists.

0:13:50 > 0:13:53'Thankfully, there's 25 miles of portico's covering Bologna's

0:13:53 > 0:13:55'pavements to keep the sun off my head.'

0:13:57 > 0:14:01'And with their frescoes, even these are artistic as well as functional.'

0:14:04 > 0:14:09- Solo stanco?- I'm exhausted. - Are you OK? It's too hot.

0:14:09 > 0:14:11Yeah, it's OK, but look at this.

0:14:11 > 0:14:13- It's difficult to find this place, eh?- It's not easy to find

0:14:13 > 0:14:15but this is what I like, you know.

0:14:15 > 0:14:17Here we are, it's an unassuming part of Bologna.

0:14:17 > 0:14:19Really unassuming.

0:14:19 > 0:14:22Really unassuming. You wouldn't even know that this art gallery

0:14:22 > 0:14:24was here, it's just a little subtle sign,

0:14:24 > 0:14:27"Ministero Per I Bene E Le Attivita Culturali",

0:14:27 > 0:14:30- but I've found a real treat inside for you.- Yeah?

0:14:30 > 0:14:34'This building may not be as impressive as the Uffizi

0:14:34 > 0:14:37'in Florence, but inside there are real treasures to be found.

0:14:41 > 0:14:45'The pinnacle of Italian art is not restricted to Tuscany and Rome.

0:14:45 > 0:14:49'Bologna and Emilia-Romagna also produced some fantastically

0:14:49 > 0:14:51'influential artists.'

0:14:51 > 0:14:57The Bolognese do not like this idea that you simply paint what you see.

0:14:57 > 0:15:00Realism is not their thing.

0:15:00 > 0:15:03Art is about conveying an idea,

0:15:03 > 0:15:06it's a much more intellectual approach to painting.

0:15:11 > 0:15:14Guido Reni was born in Bologna in 1575

0:15:14 > 0:15:17and became celebrated throughout Italy.

0:15:17 > 0:15:20But his fame dimmed as the Bolognese style of painting

0:15:20 > 0:15:21fell out of fashion.

0:15:22 > 0:15:24That I really like.

0:15:24 > 0:15:29This great painting was commissioned for Bologna's San Domenico Church.

0:15:29 > 0:15:31And you can just imagine the impact it would have had

0:15:31 > 0:15:34as you stared at it over Mass.

0:15:34 > 0:15:35It certainly draws your eye, it's a drama.

0:15:35 > 0:15:38- Yeah, it's a drama. - It's the Massacre of the Innocents.

0:15:38 > 0:15:40So that's what they are, the little kids?

0:15:40 > 0:15:43This is one of the bloodiest scenes in all of the Bible -

0:15:43 > 0:15:46a genocide enacted upon children.

0:15:46 > 0:15:47Children, yeah.

0:15:47 > 0:15:50And yet the idea here in Bologna was that

0:15:50 > 0:15:54if you actually painted it as if it were real, it would just be

0:15:54 > 0:15:58so sensational that people wouldn't think about what's really going on.

0:15:58 > 0:16:02Whereas if you distance it all, people can bear to look at it

0:16:02 > 0:16:05and therefore they can think about it in a different way

0:16:05 > 0:16:07and be affected by it in a different way.

0:16:18 > 0:16:20For dinner, Andrew and I

0:16:20 > 0:16:24will enjoy a Bolognese masterpiece of a different sort.

0:16:24 > 0:16:25Pasta ragu.

0:16:25 > 0:16:28It's a dish that sits firmly on the local tradition

0:16:28 > 0:16:30of rich Italian food.

0:16:30 > 0:16:33It must be one of the reasons Bologna is also nicknamed la grassa,

0:16:33 > 0:16:34the fat.

0:16:35 > 0:16:41Bologna la Dotta would not exist without Bologna la grassa -

0:16:41 > 0:16:43la grassa, the fat one.

0:16:45 > 0:16:49'For my ragu sauce, I'm following Pellegrino Artusi's classic recipe.

0:16:49 > 0:16:53'Artusi was obsessed by the idea of compiling comprehensive lists of recipes,

0:16:53 > 0:16:56'from every Italian region.'

0:16:56 > 0:16:59Artusi, he's one of your heroes, right?

0:16:59 > 0:17:00He's definitely my hero.

0:17:00 > 0:17:06He was the first writer that actually sort of put together in the book,

0:17:06 > 0:17:09a concept of Italian cuisine.

0:17:09 > 0:17:12You know, because we have so many different regions with so many

0:17:12 > 0:17:17different microclimatic conditions and so many different ingredients.

0:17:17 > 0:17:20So obviously the diet is a little bit different.

0:17:20 > 0:17:25So it's believed it was not just to give you a recipe, he'd give you

0:17:25 > 0:17:28the whole history of the recipe and the meaning of the recipe.

0:17:28 > 0:17:32So it's kind of a culinary portrait of Italy?

0:17:32 > 0:17:34Garibaldi unified Italy politically,

0:17:34 > 0:17:38but he kind of unified Italy gastronomically.

0:17:38 > 0:17:39Do you know what I mean?

0:17:44 > 0:17:46I'm going to add a little nice slap of butter.

0:17:46 > 0:17:50You said you were going to put some heart in it?

0:17:50 > 0:17:51Was it a lamb's heart?

0:17:51 > 0:17:53Yeah, the butcher that we went this morning to get the thing,

0:17:53 > 0:17:55he says, "Oh, you want two hearts as well?"

0:17:55 > 0:17:58I'm, like, "Yeah, I'll have the hearts as well."

0:17:58 > 0:17:59I thought it was really good.

0:17:59 > 0:18:00So you must have liked Othello,

0:18:00 > 0:18:04if you've allowed Othello to alter the great Artusi's recipe, eh?

0:18:04 > 0:18:06That's true, you're right.

0:18:06 > 0:18:09If you get some good advice on the market or it just seems right,

0:18:09 > 0:18:10you follow it, yeah.

0:18:14 > 0:18:16So my meat is now kind of browning.

0:18:18 > 0:18:22I'm going to put the vegetables in it that I already cooked.

0:18:22 > 0:18:25Today when I went to the butcher, Othello he said,

0:18:25 > 0:18:30"It's true that Artusi say not to put the tomato,

0:18:30 > 0:18:34"but just a nice, little spoon of tomato,

0:18:34 > 0:18:37"per il colore, for the colour."

0:18:37 > 0:18:39- But you know what you're doing here? - I'm doing...

0:18:39 > 0:18:40You know what you're doing.

0:18:40 > 0:18:43You're going to get hit on the head with that rolling pin!

0:18:43 > 0:18:44Cos she said whatever you do,

0:18:44 > 0:18:48if you're making the ragu Bolognese, you don't put the tomato in.

0:18:48 > 0:18:50But I really want to put a little bit of tomato in it.

0:18:50 > 0:18:52A tiny little bit.

0:18:52 > 0:18:54- You're a heretic!- Heretic.

0:18:54 > 0:18:55You're a heretic.

0:18:55 > 0:18:58I'll tell you what Artusi has to say to you.

0:18:58 > 0:19:00- Artusi had a very nosy priest. - Right.

0:19:00 > 0:19:02- Who lived near him.- Right.

0:19:02 > 0:19:04And he called him Don Pomodoro.

0:19:04 > 0:19:06Don Pomodoro.

0:19:06 > 0:19:07Do you know why,

0:19:07 > 0:19:10because this priest got his nose into everyone's business.

0:19:10 > 0:19:11Everyone business, every sauce.

0:19:11 > 0:19:13He's like the tomato, he gets in everywhere.

0:19:13 > 0:19:14In everywhere, yeah.

0:19:14 > 0:19:18Look, I just put in literally like, a spoonful.

0:19:19 > 0:19:21Maybe two.

0:19:21 > 0:19:24You should give some leftovers to her and see if she notices?

0:19:24 > 0:19:25Senora Edda, you mean?

0:19:25 > 0:19:27Perfect.

0:19:27 > 0:19:29GLASSES CLINK

0:19:29 > 0:19:32To the success of your heretical pasta sauce recipe.

0:19:34 > 0:19:36'While my sauce is cooking,

0:19:36 > 0:19:39'we've got time to take in the sunset over Bologna.

0:19:39 > 0:19:42'That's if we can make it up all the 280 steps.'

0:19:42 > 0:19:44I mean, what are you...? Working up an appetite!

0:19:44 > 0:19:47That's what we're doing, working up an appetite for you.

0:19:47 > 0:19:48HE PANTS

0:19:48 > 0:19:50Ci siamo. We arrive.

0:19:50 > 0:19:52Come.

0:19:52 > 0:19:54Oh, look at the moon!

0:19:55 > 0:19:57Andrew, look at the moon.

0:19:58 > 0:20:00It's so beautiful.

0:20:02 > 0:20:05Look, all the Centro Storico is just red, isn't it?

0:20:13 > 0:20:15Now, we really like this in Bologna.

0:20:15 > 0:20:20To me, you know the best dish is tagliatelle with ragu,

0:20:20 > 0:20:22it's the best dish ever.

0:20:22 > 0:20:23Can I take some cheese?

0:20:23 > 0:20:26- Un po di parmigiano. - Cosi? How much?

0:20:26 > 0:20:28- As much as you like. - I don't like too much.

0:20:28 > 0:20:30As much as you can afford, usually they say.

0:20:38 > 0:20:40CUTLERY CLINKS AGAINST THE BOWL

0:20:41 > 0:20:42ANDREW LAUGHS

0:20:43 > 0:20:45Thank you, Artusi.

0:20:45 > 0:20:47Thank you, Edda. I think the pasta is delicious.

0:20:47 > 0:20:49The pasta is delicious.

0:20:49 > 0:20:53I mean, if that was spaghetti, Giorgio, look.

0:20:53 > 0:20:55- All of that would fall off right. - That's exactly.

0:20:55 > 0:20:58- But it's been caught in the knots. - That's exactly.

0:20:58 > 0:21:01The spread of the idea of the spaghetti Bolognese

0:21:01 > 0:21:05with the meat sauce, is very much attached to the immigrants.

0:21:05 > 0:21:08The immigrants left Italy because there was not enough food.

0:21:08 > 0:21:11And so when they went to America, you know, the only thing they,

0:21:11 > 0:21:13- the only thing they says... - Oh.

0:21:13 > 0:21:15..there was plentiful of meat there,

0:21:15 > 0:21:19so they put as much meat as you can with every dish of pasta.

0:21:19 > 0:21:22So what had been before been the dish you'd eat once in a while

0:21:22 > 0:21:25when times are good and you've got some meat became...

0:21:25 > 0:21:27Suddenly it was something that, you know.

0:21:27 > 0:21:28Oh.

0:21:39 > 0:21:40Buongiorno.

0:21:40 > 0:21:41Buongiorno.

0:21:41 > 0:21:43Buongiorno.

0:21:43 > 0:21:44Buongiorno.

0:21:44 > 0:21:45GIORGIO SPEAKS IN ITALIAN TO THE BARBER

0:21:45 > 0:21:47'There is nothing like a good shave

0:21:47 > 0:21:49'and to freshen up in the morning.

0:21:49 > 0:21:52'And I know that Andrew will love this place.'

0:21:52 > 0:21:55But, Giorgio, isn't this another example of how in Bologna,

0:21:55 > 0:22:00people who do everyday occupations somehow manage to do them

0:22:00 > 0:22:03in surroundings of such calm and dignity and beauty,

0:22:03 > 0:22:05you know, like the lady making the pasta,

0:22:05 > 0:22:08she's doing it in a shop that's like a palace.

0:22:10 > 0:22:15'Beneath the calm and dignity is a volatile political history.

0:22:15 > 0:22:19'It's not just the buildings that are red in Bologna, the politics is too.

0:22:20 > 0:22:24'The centre of Bologna is full of small, independent business.

0:22:24 > 0:22:27'They all thrive because of the socialist policies

0:22:27 > 0:22:31'established by Bologna Communist Party in the post war years.

0:22:31 > 0:22:36'Small traders pay much lower business rates than large corporations.

0:22:36 > 0:22:40'And it's this link to the Communist Party that is in more recent times

0:22:40 > 0:22:45'the reason for Bologna's third nickname, la Rossa, the Red.'

0:22:45 > 0:22:48Your face will feel so good all day you know.

0:22:48 > 0:22:49Grazie.

0:22:49 > 0:22:51Grazie. Arrivederci.

0:22:51 > 0:22:55Buona giornata.

0:22:55 > 0:22:59'Bologna's reputation for political militancy is not limited

0:22:59 > 0:23:02'to the post-war Communist years.

0:23:02 > 0:23:08'As far back as 1506, Bologna saw popular uprising against the ruling classes,

0:23:08 > 0:23:12'which led to the city being annexed by the Papal State.

0:23:13 > 0:23:16'The Bolognese spirit of rebellion rose again

0:23:16 > 0:23:18'during the Second World War.

0:23:18 > 0:23:21'Bologna was a centre for the Resistance.

0:23:21 > 0:23:25'Over 1,800 Resistance fighters were shot here by the Nazis.

0:23:30 > 0:23:34'Bologna la Rossa has also left an artistic legacy.

0:23:34 > 0:23:36'The 20th century Bolognese artist, Giorgio Morandi,

0:23:36 > 0:23:40'spent his career paying homage to humble, everyday objects,

0:23:40 > 0:23:43'right up until his death in 1964.

0:23:43 > 0:23:49'Day after day, he sat in this studio rearranging and painting these pots.

0:23:49 > 0:23:53'He's revered in Bologna, his studio's preserved as a shrine,

0:23:53 > 0:23:58'and his life work is displayed in this new museum.'

0:23:58 > 0:24:00It's a painting of apparently almost nothing.

0:24:00 > 0:24:04There is this sort of a flavour of old Italy,

0:24:04 > 0:24:07it reminds me of, like, grandparents keeping things

0:24:07 > 0:24:11and never throwing away anything and giving a personality

0:24:11 > 0:24:15to each of the objects that means something to them.

0:24:15 > 0:24:17You hardly ever get in Morandi

0:24:17 > 0:24:21anything that looks like...luxury colour,

0:24:21 > 0:24:23this is not luxury, this is simplicity.

0:24:23 > 0:24:25If you think about it,

0:24:25 > 0:24:27you have all those colours in the front of you.

0:24:27 > 0:24:30It's like the ingredients, you get a lot of ingredients,

0:24:30 > 0:24:33and most chefs just put them all in the dish, like, you know,

0:24:33 > 0:24:40it takes of strength and self-assertiveness to make sure

0:24:40 > 0:24:43that you only pick the right one that will work for you.

0:24:43 > 0:24:45I think that's part of his cleverness as an artist,

0:24:45 > 0:24:49- he is very much painting during the rise of global capitalism. - Right.

0:24:49 > 0:24:52And if you wanted to find his sort of opposite in world art,

0:24:52 > 0:24:54- it would be Andy Warhol. - That's right.

0:24:54 > 0:24:57Who's painting the ordinary objects of American life,

0:24:57 > 0:24:59but it's Heinz tomatoes and it's...

0:24:59 > 0:25:02- Brand names. - Brand names. Brillo boxes.

0:25:02 > 0:25:05I mean, maybe that's Bologna la Rossa.

0:25:05 > 0:25:08Maybe this is a kind of counterblast,

0:25:08 > 0:25:12because he's painting these pictures up until, well, he dies in 1964.

0:25:12 > 0:25:15So maybe he's the sort of counterblast to Warhol.

0:25:18 > 0:25:21'For me, Bologna definitely lives up to its three nicknames,

0:25:21 > 0:25:25'la dotta, la grassa and la rossa.

0:25:25 > 0:25:27'And they're all intricately intertwined,

0:25:27 > 0:25:31'a fascinating marriage of food, culture and politics.'

0:25:33 > 0:25:37It's quite a comfortable, very bourgeois town

0:25:37 > 0:25:40that you'd think maybe had forgotten its socialist past,

0:25:40 > 0:25:43- but it's still there, don't you think?- I think so.

0:25:43 > 0:25:49JAUNTY ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC

0:25:49 > 0:25:51'So it's goodbye to Bologna.

0:25:51 > 0:25:54'Now we're off to explore the rest of Emilia-Romagna.'

0:25:54 > 0:25:56CAR ENGINE ROARS

0:25:56 > 0:25:58'This is the Po Valley.

0:25:58 > 0:26:02'This fertile land has nourished the region's rich history

0:26:02 > 0:26:03'and fed the local culture,

0:26:03 > 0:26:06'both literally and metaphorically.

0:26:06 > 0:26:10'The beautiful River Po is the artery of Emilia-Romagna.

0:26:10 > 0:26:14'It has painted the region in a palette of swirling fog,

0:26:14 > 0:26:18'deep, dark soil and lush, arable farmland.

0:26:18 > 0:26:21'Many of the rich historical traditions of this region

0:26:21 > 0:26:23'stems from these waters.

0:26:23 > 0:26:28'This river is also the source of my best memory of Emilia-Romagna.'

0:26:28 > 0:26:31They tamed the land to grow what they want,

0:26:31 > 0:26:33and here they even tamed the sea.

0:26:35 > 0:26:38This is, like, something very special about it.

0:26:40 > 0:26:44'I wanted to show Andrew one of the great pastimes of the Po Valley,

0:26:44 > 0:26:47'with the land and the river as a backdrop.'

0:26:47 > 0:26:49Umberto! Oi?

0:26:50 > 0:26:53'The padellone is a traditional way of fishing,

0:26:53 > 0:26:56'where friends can get together to share in the peace

0:26:56 > 0:27:00'and tranquillity of this land, and get a meal too.'

0:27:00 > 0:27:04Buona sera! These are your soci?

0:27:07 > 0:27:10What's soci mean?

0:27:10 > 0:27:14Soci is because they all own this hut together.

0:27:14 > 0:27:16It's like going to the bar, isn't it?

0:27:16 > 0:27:18But it's a bit more secluded, it's more calm.

0:27:18 > 0:27:21It's like the golf club except with fish.

0:27:31 > 0:27:34But what I really want to know, I want to know how it works.

0:27:34 > 0:27:37How it works. If you push that one, the trick is done.

0:27:37 > 0:27:39SPEAKS IN ITALIAN

0:27:39 > 0:27:42Press?

0:27:42 > 0:27:45Press, OK.

0:27:45 > 0:27:47Oh, it's coming up.

0:27:47 > 0:27:50Look at that! Look how big it is.

0:27:50 > 0:27:52That is fabulous, look at that!

0:27:53 > 0:27:56Oh, look at the crab, can you see the crab?

0:27:56 > 0:27:59Ohhh, that's what we're going to eat.

0:28:01 > 0:28:03These are delicious!

0:28:04 > 0:28:08'The name "padellone" refers the shape of the nets,

0:28:08 > 0:28:12'which resemble the giant pan the fishermen fry their catch in.'

0:28:12 > 0:28:16This is baby red mullet. They're all different, you see.

0:28:16 > 0:28:18So you deep-fry these little chaps?

0:28:18 > 0:28:22That's it, you put a little bit of flour and you fry it, that's it.

0:28:22 > 0:28:25It's not a very difficult kind of fishing, I have to say.

0:28:25 > 0:28:30I think it's Italian people spending time together,

0:28:30 > 0:28:32it's about the drink and the food.

0:28:32 > 0:28:35The food always brings them together.

0:28:35 > 0:28:37JAUNTY ACCORDION MUSIC PLAYS

0:28:44 > 0:28:47'For honest working men, like Umberto and Banana,

0:28:47 > 0:28:53'this pause from life is typical of Emilia-Romagna, rooted in the place.'

0:28:53 > 0:28:56Semolino and a little bit of double zero flour, OK.

0:28:56 > 0:28:58So one sticks to it,

0:28:58 > 0:29:01the other one's going make it really, really crispy.

0:29:01 > 0:29:03Now the only place they jump is in the pot.

0:29:05 > 0:29:07How long do they take to cook, Giorgio?

0:29:07 > 0:29:11Very, very fast, they're going to cook in about maybe one minute.

0:29:11 > 0:29:12Very good.

0:29:14 > 0:29:15ALL LAUGH

0:29:15 > 0:29:17Attenzioni.

0:29:19 > 0:29:22You see, Andrew, I really wanted you to come and see this,

0:29:22 > 0:29:23because this is really,

0:29:23 > 0:29:28when we're talking about richness of this land, culture.

0:29:28 > 0:29:33And the real power of this land is really all these people

0:29:33 > 0:29:38and on this river that has brought down for thousand and thousand of years,

0:29:38 > 0:29:40this goodness from the Alps.

0:29:40 > 0:29:43And it's brought it down to them, and they've been here every day

0:29:43 > 0:29:47taking a little bit, with respect and with love.

0:29:47 > 0:29:50And, you know, look at the variety, the colour, the beauty

0:29:50 > 0:29:51and the abundance.

0:29:51 > 0:29:53This is what it's all about, Emilia-Romagna.

0:29:53 > 0:29:55MEN CHAT IN ITALIAN

0:29:55 > 0:29:58Andrew, per noi queste sono como le patatine,

0:29:58 > 0:30:02- chips!- This is like, like fried chips. Like fried chips!

0:30:02 > 0:30:05THEY LAUGH

0:30:09 > 0:30:11On the padellone, there's no stress, so...

0:30:17 > 0:30:22It's the culture that, you know, this is just a little step towards freedom, isn't it?

0:30:25 > 0:30:28THEY TOAST AND LAUGH

0:30:28 > 0:30:30The brindisi are getting more chaotic!

0:30:54 > 0:30:56'After a strong coffee, we're back on the road

0:30:56 > 0:31:00'and heading to the historical city of Ferrara.'

0:31:00 > 0:31:03I'm definitely slightly the worse for wear.

0:31:03 > 0:31:06These brindisi. That's fantastic.

0:31:06 > 0:31:07Brindisi!

0:31:07 > 0:31:10"Facciamo un brindisi!"

0:31:16 > 0:31:19'The city of Ferrara was built on the banks of the Po.

0:31:19 > 0:31:22'It was the stronghold of the Este dynasty who ruled here

0:31:22 > 0:31:27'for over 300 years until the end of the 16th century.

0:31:27 > 0:31:31'Like many dynasties, the Este used arts and architecture

0:31:31 > 0:31:34'to express their power and wealth.'

0:31:35 > 0:31:39I wanted you to see this arch, Giorgio, that was designed by Alberti,

0:31:39 > 0:31:43- the father of Renaissance architecture.- Yeah?

0:31:43 > 0:31:47And on the top is a statue of Nicolo III d'Este.

0:31:47 > 0:31:50GIORGIO SINGS

0:31:57 > 0:32:01I feel like I'm taking a reluctant eight-year-old on a tour

0:32:01 > 0:32:03- round the architectural delights of Ferrara.- Si, yes.

0:32:03 > 0:32:05I'll have to find something better for you, eh?

0:32:05 > 0:32:07It's all so nice and fresh.

0:32:07 > 0:32:09'Today, Ferrara is a bustling university town,

0:32:09 > 0:32:12'full of students and bicycles.

0:32:12 > 0:32:18'The university was established by Alberto V of the Este in 1391.

0:32:18 > 0:32:22'The Este invited artists, architects and scholars

0:32:22 > 0:32:23'from all over Europe.

0:32:23 > 0:32:27'Jewish bankers, persecuted elsewhere, were welcomed here -

0:32:27 > 0:32:30'in fact, the doors were flung open to all who could contribute

0:32:30 > 0:32:33'to making Ferrara powerful and successful.'

0:32:35 > 0:32:39If you came from anywhere else in Italy and you arrived here,

0:32:39 > 0:32:41you'd be like stumbling out of the Dark Ages

0:32:41 > 0:32:45into this new Renaissance idea of what is a city,

0:32:45 > 0:32:47you know, these wide streets.

0:32:47 > 0:32:52This was really the first emphatic expression of a very particular Renaissance idea

0:32:52 > 0:32:55which was...a planned town.

0:32:55 > 0:32:57You know, town planning.

0:32:57 > 0:33:01The medieval town just grows like an organism,

0:33:01 > 0:33:04and you end up with this labyrinth, where poor lives next to rich.

0:33:04 > 0:33:05Everything's a kind of chaos.

0:33:05 > 0:33:07Here in Ferrara, for the first time,

0:33:07 > 0:33:10the Este said, "No! We're not going to have that kind of city any more.

0:33:10 > 0:33:15"We're going to have a planned city - wide streets, but only for the rich."

0:33:15 > 0:33:17It's just lined with palaces in all directions

0:33:17 > 0:33:21and at the centre of it all, this thumping great expression of Este power,

0:33:21 > 0:33:23the Palazzo dei Diamanti,

0:33:23 > 0:33:29with these amazing kind of sharp diamonds of stone all over it,

0:33:29 > 0:33:31studded like a kind of piece of chain mail.

0:33:31 > 0:33:34I mean, there's nothing else like it in Renaissance architecture,

0:33:34 > 0:33:38- not quite like this.- Right. It looks very modern, isn't it, somehow?

0:33:38 > 0:33:41Yeah, I think it is - fascist architects looked at this building

0:33:41 > 0:33:43when they were designing in the '30s and '40s.

0:33:43 > 0:33:46They were looking at this kind of symmetry, this architecture of power.

0:33:46 > 0:33:48I think it's very beautiful,

0:33:48 > 0:33:51but I also think there's something slightly sinister about it.

0:33:51 > 0:33:54It's telling you if you're one of the Ferrarese poor,

0:33:54 > 0:33:57"Don't mess with us or we'll come down on you like a..."

0:33:57 > 0:33:59- The fist will squash you? - Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

0:34:01 > 0:34:04'In their heyday, the Este were as dominant as the Medici

0:34:04 > 0:34:07'and even married into other powerful dynasties,

0:34:07 > 0:34:10'including a notorious union with Lucrezia Borgia.

0:34:10 > 0:34:15'But in 1598, with no heir to continue the line,

0:34:15 > 0:34:18'Ferrara was claimed by the Papal States.

0:34:18 > 0:34:21'Today the Este dynasty is largely forgotten.'

0:34:23 > 0:34:27Because the Este lost the power battle, all of their buildings

0:34:27 > 0:34:30got stripped of their possessions, got taken to other places,

0:34:30 > 0:34:33so what we're left with is this beautiful, fantastic,

0:34:33 > 0:34:37but rather melancholy stage set - it's like the set of a play

0:34:37 > 0:34:38but all the actors have gone.

0:34:50 > 0:34:53'We are driving further west along the Po Valley to Modena.

0:34:56 > 0:35:00'This city is home to two of my favourite things,

0:35:00 > 0:35:03'balsamic vinegar and fast cars.

0:35:05 > 0:35:09'But it's also home to a truly heart-stopping work of art -

0:35:09 > 0:35:14'one that's rooted in the soil and the blood of this region.'

0:35:15 > 0:35:17I'm going to tell you a story.

0:35:17 > 0:35:20I'm going to give you a role in the story as well, if you don't mind?

0:35:20 > 0:35:21- I've got a role in the story?- Yeah.

0:35:21 > 0:35:25So you have to imagine that it's 1480,

0:35:25 > 0:35:28you've done something terrible,

0:35:28 > 0:35:31maybe you've tried to poison the Duke of the Este Dynasty,

0:35:31 > 0:35:34but you've been caught, and you've been sentenced to death.

0:35:34 > 0:35:36Now they're taking you down this street.

0:35:36 > 0:35:39- Right.- When you get to the end of the street, they're going to rip pieces

0:35:39 > 0:35:42of your flesh off with red hot pincers, they're going to hang you

0:35:42 > 0:35:44- by the neck until you're dead. - Right.

0:35:44 > 0:35:46But you've got some friends with you

0:35:46 > 0:35:50and they are the members of the local confraternity of the good death,

0:35:50 > 0:35:53and it's their job to make sure that you repent before you die.

0:35:53 > 0:35:55This is their church, they stop you here,

0:35:55 > 0:35:59and they bring you in because they want you to see one last thing.

0:35:59 > 0:36:01- Before I die?- Before you die.

0:36:01 > 0:36:03I would like to have a risotto before I die.

0:36:03 > 0:36:07Maybe you've had your last wish already, so assume you've had your risotto.

0:36:10 > 0:36:14This object is going to be the last thing

0:36:14 > 0:36:18that you should hold in your mind's eye if you want to save your soul.

0:36:28 > 0:36:34It was created in 1477 by an artist called Guido Mazzoni.

0:36:34 > 0:36:35What is it made of?

0:36:35 > 0:36:38- It's made of terracotta.- No!

0:36:38 > 0:36:42Yeah, it's made of the same earth of Emilia-Romagna

0:36:42 > 0:36:46from which all the things that we've been eating grow.

0:36:46 > 0:36:51So the idea behind the sculpture is that you are going to your death

0:36:51 > 0:36:54and I, as a member of the company of the good death,

0:36:54 > 0:36:57want you to have as good a death as possible.

0:36:57 > 0:37:02And that if you look as Christ's dead figure

0:37:02 > 0:37:06lying while Mary the Madonna grieves over him,

0:37:06 > 0:37:10while Mary Magdalene twists her face into this scream of anguish,

0:37:10 > 0:37:15somehow this emotion will transmit from that sculpture into you,

0:37:15 > 0:37:19and that you will feel these things in your heart...

0:37:19 > 0:37:21and you will be moved to turn to the priest

0:37:21 > 0:37:25who accompanies you on the scaffold, you will confess.

0:37:25 > 0:37:27And maybe, just maybe,

0:37:27 > 0:37:29this sculpture may help to save your soul.

0:37:41 > 0:37:45I think it does achieve what it set out for, doesn't it?

0:37:47 > 0:37:51'These sculptures are refined and sophisticated,

0:37:51 > 0:37:54'yet unashamedly proud of their roots,

0:37:54 > 0:38:00'having grown out of the humblest of materials - the Emilia-Romagna clay itself.'

0:38:01 > 0:38:03- Andiamo.- Andiamo.

0:38:06 > 0:38:08Well, you can step out of character now.

0:38:14 > 0:38:16'What draws me most to this region

0:38:16 > 0:38:19'is the beautiful produce that grows out of this soil.

0:38:24 > 0:38:28'For 25 years, I've been buying balsamic vinegar tradizionale

0:38:28 > 0:38:30'from the Aggazzotti family,

0:38:30 > 0:38:33'but until now, I've never met my supplier, Ettore Aggazzotti.'

0:38:43 > 0:38:47This is the place where it all happens.

0:38:47 > 0:38:49The produce transforms itself

0:38:49 > 0:38:54and becomes balsamic vinegar tradizionale.

0:38:54 > 0:38:56- The real deal.- The real deal.

0:38:56 > 0:39:01'The Aggazzotti family has been making vinegar since 1714.

0:39:01 > 0:39:04'The family has perfected the art of creating a symphony of flavour

0:39:04 > 0:39:07'out of the most modest of ingredients.

0:39:07 > 0:39:10'Grapes, patience and a colony of bacteria

0:39:10 > 0:39:13that vinegar producers call "the mother".'

0:39:18 > 0:39:20The mother is a colony of bacteria.

0:39:23 > 0:39:26They keep on reforming itself.

0:39:26 > 0:39:28Right, so what does the mother do to this liquid?

0:39:28 > 0:39:30The natural sugar that there is inside,

0:39:30 > 0:39:32the mother transform the sugar into vinegar.

0:39:32 > 0:39:35- Bacteria does that by sort of eating it.- That's right.

0:39:35 > 0:39:39So the mother bacteria colony that you still use in every batch...

0:39:39 > 0:39:40Every years.

0:39:40 > 0:39:42..was actually first sort of created

0:39:42 > 0:39:45and it's still the same bacteria family that's doing it?

0:39:45 > 0:39:49Exactly, and this is... That's exactly what the value would be.

0:39:49 > 0:39:53The value of the acetaia is on the value of the mother.

0:39:53 > 0:39:55If you start tomorrow, you're going to have to wait

0:39:55 > 0:39:56- quite a long time before...- Right.

0:39:58 > 0:40:02'Balsamic vinegar is often swept aside as a simple condiment

0:40:02 > 0:40:05'that you use to dip your bread in or throw over a salad.

0:40:05 > 0:40:11'But balsamic vinegar tradizionale is very different to normal balsamic vinegar.

0:40:11 > 0:40:18'And that's why this tiny bottle of 25-year-old vinegar costs 250 euros.'

0:40:18 > 0:40:22The aging factor, I think, is a typical expression of this land -

0:40:22 > 0:40:27this patience, this idea of, "I can wait to have something fantastic."

0:40:38 > 0:40:42Hmm, that is fantastic, the sweet with the salt,

0:40:42 > 0:40:44it's even more intense.

0:40:44 > 0:40:48It takes 25 years to get the balsamic out of that barrel, doesn't it?

0:40:48 > 0:40:51After 25 years, we actually managed to meet each other.

0:40:51 > 0:40:56- Well, here's to both of you - Ettore, Giorgio.- Salute!

0:40:56 > 0:40:59Brindiamo. Facciamo un brindisi!

0:40:59 > 0:41:01'This trip to Modena is a dream for me.

0:41:01 > 0:41:06'First I get to meet Ettore and now I get to satisfy my second love,

0:41:06 > 0:41:07'fast cars.

0:41:12 > 0:41:14'Modena is the home to Enzo Ferrari,

0:41:14 > 0:41:18'and we can't come here without going to visit the new Ferrari museum,

0:41:18 > 0:41:21'a testament to his life's work.

0:41:21 > 0:41:25'He was obsessed with racing since childhood, and he turned his dream

0:41:25 > 0:41:29'into a quest to build the ultimate racing machine.

0:41:29 > 0:41:31'Today, Ferrari is famous worldwide.

0:41:33 > 0:41:37'Enzo's original workshop and office, founded here in 1929,

0:41:37 > 0:41:38'is still standing,

0:41:38 > 0:41:42'sheltered by this spectacular museum designed by architect Jan Kaplicky.

0:41:44 > 0:41:48'It's a perfect demonstration of how tradition meets modernity

0:41:48 > 0:41:51'and technology in this region.'

0:41:51 > 0:41:53It's all white, it's like an art gallery, the cars are on plinths.

0:41:53 > 0:41:55So beautiful, aren't they?

0:41:55 > 0:41:58I think cars deserve to be looked at in terms of, you know...

0:41:58 > 0:42:01Especially these cars, look at that beautiful shape...

0:42:01 > 0:42:02an aeroplane, almost.

0:42:02 > 0:42:06Well, it's funny, I mean we're looking at these cars as if they're sculptures,

0:42:06 > 0:42:09but they do actually look like sculptures of the 1940s.

0:42:09 > 0:42:11- If you think of Henry Moore if you think of Arc...- Yes.

0:42:11 > 0:42:14That sort of biomorphic that was in the air,

0:42:14 > 0:42:16so even the cars are like that.

0:42:16 > 0:42:19Even if you're ugly, you look good on this one.

0:42:19 > 0:42:23Ferrari seems to me to be the man who almost literally

0:42:23 > 0:42:25gives Italy the engine to drive into the future.

0:42:28 > 0:42:33'Emilia-Romagna has also given the world Ducati, Maserati, Lamborghini.

0:42:33 > 0:42:36'What a roll call for one fairly small region.'

0:42:37 > 0:42:42This real modern aesthetic and this culture of design.

0:42:42 > 0:42:45Why do you think it flourished in Northern Italy?

0:42:45 > 0:42:47I think it's the passion and the drive.

0:42:47 > 0:42:50You know, they want to show everybody they could do something

0:42:50 > 0:42:53really great, they dream about being.

0:42:53 > 0:42:57That's what Enzo Ferrari used to say, "I dream about being Ferrari,

0:42:57 > 0:43:02"I dreamt to be Ferrari and I become Ferrari, you know, I dreamt it."

0:43:02 > 0:43:05Can you imagine how strong he must have been feeling to dream about it?

0:43:05 > 0:43:09- No more Medici, no more...- No more Medici, no more Este, no more that!

0:43:09 > 0:43:12They took the mantle on, and they took it on through

0:43:12 > 0:43:16showing something that they could do. So they went forwards with that.

0:43:16 > 0:43:18This is so important.

0:43:22 > 0:43:25'But these cars weren't just made to be looked at,

0:43:25 > 0:43:27'they were designed to be driven.

0:43:29 > 0:43:33'Every aspect of these cars is the product of craftsmanship.

0:43:33 > 0:43:37'Even today, every engine is signed by the mechanic who put it together.'

0:43:40 > 0:43:44I'm crying, it was so good! Oh, that was so good!

0:43:44 > 0:43:46HE LAUGHS

0:43:46 > 0:43:47You enjoyed it?

0:43:47 > 0:43:49Oh, yes, Giorgio, I enjoyed it(!)

0:43:49 > 0:43:51GIORGIO LAUGHS

0:43:51 > 0:43:52I feel my blood is going round!

0:44:00 > 0:44:05'Finally, we arrive in Parma, our last stop in Emilia-Romagna.

0:44:05 > 0:44:09'This town is famous for the highest-quality delicacies -

0:44:09 > 0:44:11'Parma ham, Parmesan cheese.

0:44:11 > 0:44:15'And quality control has become a business, too.

0:44:15 > 0:44:19'The EU has based its Food Standards Agency in this tiny town.'

0:44:19 > 0:44:22Baptistry, Archbishops' Palace, Cathedral.

0:44:22 > 0:44:25Beautiful Romanesque cathedral.

0:44:25 > 0:44:27'It's not just the food that's world class.'

0:44:27 > 0:44:31Giorgio, after you. One of the world's great buildings.

0:44:33 > 0:44:36And how cool is it?! It's like instant air conditioning,

0:44:36 > 0:44:39you come out of 40 degrees heat and here, you can relax,

0:44:39 > 0:44:41you can enjoy, you can see.

0:44:41 > 0:44:45'Here in Parma's cathedral is one of the most innovative,

0:44:45 > 0:44:48'awe-inspiring works of art of the whole Renaissance.'

0:44:49 > 0:44:53So in the 1520s, Antonio Allegri,

0:44:53 > 0:44:58detto il Correggio was commissioned to paint the dome of the cathedral.

0:45:03 > 0:45:07Right now, you look up to the dome.

0:45:07 > 0:45:10Wow!

0:45:10 > 0:45:13And it's showing us the Assumption of the Virgin Mary,

0:45:13 > 0:45:17she's being whooshed into heaven after her death.

0:45:17 > 0:45:21And she's going to meet her son, Jesus Christ, in heaven.

0:45:24 > 0:45:30It's so uplifting, isn't it? it goes like whoosh. Like a spiral.

0:45:30 > 0:45:32Unbelievable.

0:45:36 > 0:45:38It's a painting that's meant to make you feel

0:45:38 > 0:45:41as if you are being whirled up to heaven.

0:45:41 > 0:45:45It does. It does. It really feels like it's lifting you up.

0:45:45 > 0:45:49Levitation. But what's amazing about this is that it's ten years

0:45:49 > 0:45:53after Michelangelo has finished the Sistine Chapel.

0:45:53 > 0:45:55And the people in Parma think,

0:45:55 > 0:45:58"We're not going to be outdone by those Romans."

0:45:58 > 0:46:00So what they do, this is not a ceiling.

0:46:00 > 0:46:03This is not a ceiling, this a dome.

0:46:03 > 0:46:05In the past, if they painted a dome,

0:46:05 > 0:46:08they just painted it blue with gold stars - heaven.

0:46:08 > 0:46:11Correggio set himself the challenge

0:46:11 > 0:46:14to paint the Madonna entering heaven.

0:46:14 > 0:46:17Was he really appreciated for this? Did people love it?

0:46:17 > 0:46:19Well, this is the terrible paradox.

0:46:19 > 0:46:22Titian, supposedly the greatest painter in the history of painting...

0:46:22 > 0:46:24Right.

0:46:24 > 0:46:26..he heard about this and he looked at it and said,

0:46:26 > 0:46:32"This is incredible. You couldn't pay Correggio enough for this.

0:46:32 > 0:46:36"In fact, if you turned that dome upside-down and made it into a bowl,

0:46:36 > 0:46:39"and filled it with gold, it wouldn't be enough money."

0:46:42 > 0:46:45But the tragedy of it is that the patron,

0:46:45 > 0:46:50the Canon of the Cathedral, who was obviously a very conservative man,

0:46:50 > 0:46:55he simply said, "It looks like a stew of frog's legs."

0:46:55 > 0:46:56He didn't?

0:46:56 > 0:47:00That was his judgment, and Correggio finished it in 1530,

0:47:00 > 0:47:02it took him eight years from start to end,

0:47:02 > 0:47:06- he never got another commission in Parma.- No!

0:47:06 > 0:47:11- So it was like, "Thank you very much but no thank you."- No way.

0:47:12 > 0:47:15Bellissima. Grazie, andiamo.

0:47:15 > 0:47:17Prego, prego.

0:47:21 > 0:47:23'Just a little way out of Parma

0:47:23 > 0:47:27'is my great friend Massimo Spigaroli's farm.

0:47:27 > 0:47:29'Parma is famous for its dried ham

0:47:29 > 0:47:33'and I think Massimo's Culatello di Zibello is definitely

0:47:33 > 0:47:35'some of the best in the world.

0:47:35 > 0:47:37'Culatello is a type of Parma ham

0:47:37 > 0:47:40'only made with the finest cut of pork rump.'

0:47:40 > 0:47:43So, Massimo, what do we use?

0:47:43 > 0:47:45It's very, very simple. Salt, pepper...

0:47:45 > 0:47:47Salt and pepper.

0:47:47 > 0:47:52..garlic, red wine Fontana, territorio, the bladder.

0:47:52 > 0:47:56- Pig's bladder. - Pig's bladder, meat pig.

0:47:56 > 0:48:02Meat from the pig, which is a rump, it's the culatello.

0:48:02 > 0:48:07What makes this recipe is the fog, is the silent.

0:48:07 > 0:48:11These are the ingredients as well of this pig, isn't it?

0:48:11 > 0:48:13E tempo - time.

0:48:13 > 0:48:17And time, time is what plays, like for the balsamic vinegar,

0:48:17 > 0:48:21again the master of time, the master of time.

0:48:21 > 0:48:24When they make Ferraris, they master time when they make culatello.

0:48:24 > 0:48:27They know how to wait for something

0:48:27 > 0:48:31that gets better and better and better.

0:48:31 > 0:48:34'The meat is massaged with garlic, and wine,

0:48:34 > 0:48:39'then it's covered with salt.

0:48:39 > 0:48:43'Finally, it's wrapped tightly in a pig's bladder.

0:48:43 > 0:48:47'It's a technique that hasn't changed for centuries.'

0:48:47 > 0:48:49That's the same way that his grandfather

0:48:49 > 0:48:52- used to make culatello for Giuseppe Verdi.- What?

0:48:52 > 0:48:56Giuseppe Verdi, you know, he used to buy culatello from his grandfather.

0:48:56 > 0:49:00This is where, actually, the artisan is king, you know.

0:49:00 > 0:49:02Fantastic. How long will it be hanging?

0:49:02 > 0:49:06It can stay up to two or three years without any problem.

0:49:06 > 0:49:09'When it's ready, it's down to the cellar.'

0:49:13 > 0:49:16I can smell it.

0:49:16 > 0:49:18The march of the pig leads here.

0:49:18 > 0:49:20This is the paradise of the pig.

0:49:20 > 0:49:24'This cellar has been used to cure culatello for nearly 700 years.'

0:49:24 > 0:49:26They're like sleeping bats.

0:49:26 > 0:49:30Look at that. Massimo questo e bellissimo.

0:49:30 > 0:49:34Questo e il paradiso del maiale, eh? Pig paradise.

0:49:34 > 0:49:36Have you seen? Look, Giorgio.

0:49:36 > 0:49:38Are these the names of the clients?

0:49:38 > 0:49:41E qui e Principe Carlo. That's Prince Charles's one?

0:49:41 > 0:49:45And look at that - Prince Albert of Monaco.

0:49:45 > 0:49:47Armani!

0:49:47 > 0:49:50- Giorgio Armani has a culatello. - And look at that.

0:49:50 > 0:49:53'This cellar is like a perfectly honed machine.

0:49:53 > 0:49:57'To work best, Massimo must keep exactly 5,000 culatello

0:49:57 > 0:50:00'hanging in here.'

0:50:00 > 0:50:04He decides every day how much to open or close the window.

0:50:04 > 0:50:07Depend on the temperature, depend on the humidity.

0:50:07 > 0:50:13So the fresh air will come in with the fog, the humidity,

0:50:13 > 0:50:17and this activates the noble white mould that gives

0:50:17 > 0:50:21that characteristic flavour to the cured meat.

0:50:21 > 0:50:24This is the last ingredients coming naturally through the window,

0:50:24 > 0:50:29and the man decides how much to expose the culatello to.

0:50:44 > 0:50:47- Oooh, that's a perfume of history. - Posso.

0:50:47 > 0:50:50Smell that.

0:50:53 > 0:50:56If a woman smelled like that, would be my lover.

0:50:57 > 0:51:01Speak for yourself!

0:51:08 > 0:51:10We're going to eat it before we get back to London,

0:51:10 > 0:51:13I'm not letting you away with that.

0:51:15 > 0:51:17'How wonderful that something as simple as fog,

0:51:17 > 0:51:23'or even silence, can generate such incredible flavour.

0:51:23 > 0:51:25'I've been struck for the first time on this trip that

0:51:25 > 0:51:28'the features of the landscape are actually just as important

0:51:28 > 0:51:30'to the art of the region.

0:51:30 > 0:51:33'The fog that swirls through Correggio's fresco

0:51:33 > 0:51:38'in Parma Cathedral, just as it swirls around Massimo's cellar.'

0:51:42 > 0:51:46'Centuries-old traditions are vital to this region's livelihood,

0:51:46 > 0:51:49'even today.

0:51:49 > 0:51:53'So preserving them is important to everyone who lives here.

0:51:53 > 0:51:57'Parma's Palatine library contains a rare historical treasure

0:51:57 > 0:51:59'that I'm desperate to get a peek at.'

0:51:59 > 0:52:03Wow, that is what I call a library. That's fantastic.

0:52:03 > 0:52:06'This book is one of the earliest existing Italian recipe books,

0:52:06 > 0:52:09'written in 1680 by Carlo Nascia,

0:52:09 > 0:52:13'who was private chef to the Duke Ranuccio Farnese.

0:52:13 > 0:52:17'This 400-year-old manuscript has recently been restored.'

0:52:17 > 0:52:19This book is very important.

0:52:19 > 0:52:25It really tells you what the cookery of that time was like.

0:52:25 > 0:52:28Obviously, this is not the cookery of the poor people,

0:52:28 > 0:52:31this is the cookery of the rich. The recipes are very simply written,

0:52:31 > 0:52:34but it's a very intelligent book

0:52:34 > 0:52:37because he has a reference to French food,

0:52:37 > 0:52:40he has a reference to Far East food.

0:52:40 > 0:52:44So it shows you how sophisticated they were on their taste.

0:52:44 > 0:52:46Even that long time ago.

0:52:46 > 0:52:49Some of these recipes have just caught my eye, look.

0:52:49 > 0:52:51- Don't touch it...- Mi dispiace!

0:52:51 > 0:52:54You been to Oxford and you should know that you don't touch

0:52:54 > 0:52:57a manuscript, I touch it because I got the gloves.

0:52:57 > 0:52:58So get your hands off.

0:52:58 > 0:53:02For one time, can I look intelligent and you look like a peasant?

0:53:02 > 0:53:06For one time, you know, please, you know. I got the gloves.

0:53:11 > 0:53:17Pasticcio di lombo, pasticcio di carne, le torte diverse.

0:53:17 > 0:53:19'The Farnese Dukes of the 17th century

0:53:19 > 0:53:22'would use these astounding banquets as political tools,

0:53:22 > 0:53:26'demonstrating their power and wealth to visiting dignitaries

0:53:26 > 0:53:28'who'd be left in awe and wonder.'

0:53:28 > 0:53:33This is amazing and the smell of this book, it smells of the kitchen.

0:53:33 > 0:53:35Smell it.

0:53:35 > 0:53:37'For chefs like Carlo Nascia and Pellegrino Artusi,

0:53:37 > 0:53:40'food is not just something to fill up your belly.'

0:53:40 > 0:53:41It smells of the kitchen.

0:53:41 > 0:53:47'It can also feed the mind and be used to great intellectual ends.'

0:53:47 > 0:53:51This is what modern cookery is all about

0:53:51 > 0:53:54and this is how we start to learn,

0:53:54 > 0:53:58when people like that start to write these books.

0:53:58 > 0:54:01'This book has been restored by a group of very special ladies

0:54:01 > 0:54:05'who call themselves the Fornello Dining Club.

0:54:05 > 0:54:08'They want to ensure that these recipes are kept alive.

0:54:08 > 0:54:11'And most importantly, enjoyed!

0:54:13 > 0:54:16'For our last meal in Emilia-Romagna they've invited us

0:54:16 > 0:54:19'to try out one of Nascia's recipes.'

0:54:19 > 0:54:22I'm going to cook something for you,

0:54:22 > 0:54:27- which is this really special dish, that is the Rosa di Parma.- Si.

0:54:27 > 0:54:31- Very simple ingredients, the fillet steak.- Filetto.

0:54:31 > 0:54:35- Filetto.- Aperto.- Open up, butterflied open, then we've got some garlic,

0:54:35 > 0:54:41some rosemary, some Parma ham, some Parmesan and again...

0:54:41 > 0:54:44- Lambrusco.- Lambrusco.

0:54:55 > 0:54:58'Without the efforts of these women,

0:54:58 > 0:55:02'this recipe and many others would have been lost forever.

0:55:18 > 0:55:21'The fillet is stuffed with Parmesan cheese and Parma ham,

0:55:21 > 0:55:23'then rolled and tied.'

0:55:23 > 0:55:26Quanto.

0:55:34 > 0:55:37Yeah, I love the way the cheese mixes in with the Parma ham

0:55:37 > 0:55:40and you get this sweet flavour, and then the wine kicks in.

0:55:40 > 0:55:43- That's right.- With the cream, I mean, this is rich food.

0:55:43 > 0:55:48This book proved that the banqueting was something that was not just

0:55:48 > 0:55:52about food, was about showing your power, your understanding

0:55:52 > 0:55:56of who was sitting around the table, what they were going to eat,

0:55:56 > 0:56:00and show them your understanding of the world that surrounds you,

0:56:00 > 0:56:04to get things from Genoa, to get things from Venice, from Sicily.

0:56:04 > 0:56:07That was a show of power.

0:56:07 > 0:56:09Cheers, everybody!

0:56:09 > 0:56:12'These ladies might be just a bit more glamorous

0:56:12 > 0:56:14'than our friends at the fishing hut,

0:56:14 > 0:56:16'but the sentiment is the same.

0:56:16 > 0:56:20'To keep the heritage and traditions of this region alive.

0:56:27 > 0:56:31'Emilia-Romagna is where centuries-old traditions

0:56:31 > 0:56:33'have met with the modern world.

0:56:33 > 0:56:36'The people here know how to appreciate the silence

0:56:36 > 0:56:39'with the speed, richness with simplicity,

0:56:39 > 0:56:43'and always with an eye to enjoying life.'

0:56:43 > 0:56:47One of the things I was struck by, particularly in Bologna,

0:56:47 > 0:56:49which for me was a great rediscovery,

0:56:49 > 0:56:54was the extent to which people doing relatively modest occupations

0:56:54 > 0:56:59like making pasta or being a barber, managed to carve out for themselves

0:56:59 > 0:57:02this fantastic environment to work in.

0:57:02 > 0:57:05They've kept that tradition of the small...

0:57:05 > 0:57:07Respect of the working person.

0:57:07 > 0:57:10Yes, there doesn't have to be a multinational company,

0:57:10 > 0:57:12you can stay small and it will still work.

0:57:12 > 0:57:15What do you think your abiding memories will be

0:57:15 > 0:57:17of this trip through Emilia-Romagna?

0:57:17 > 0:57:21Oh, for me, it was just incredible to see these people

0:57:21 > 0:57:25and they got such a joy of life on one side,

0:57:25 > 0:57:27almost like the southern, you know.

0:57:27 > 0:57:34And then on the other side, you have this absolutely tough work ethic.

0:57:34 > 0:57:37They can wait for their produce.

0:57:37 > 0:57:40You mean the joy of the south and the work ethic of the north...

0:57:40 > 0:57:43- That's right.- Fused.

0:57:43 > 0:57:45This theme of patience or, you know, taking a long time

0:57:45 > 0:57:49to get something just right, I think it's true of the art as well.

0:57:49 > 0:57:52Do you remember that amazing dome painted by Correggio?

0:57:52 > 0:57:57Oh, my favourite thing. That was my favourite thing ever!

0:57:57 > 0:57:58I never seen anything like that,

0:57:58 > 0:58:01that's much better than the Sistine Chapel.

0:58:01 > 0:58:04- You think that's much better than the Sistine Chapel?- Much better!

0:58:04 > 0:58:07Spoken like a true northern Italian.

0:58:07 > 0:58:10- So where are we going to go next? - I'm going to take you to Lombardy.

0:58:10 > 0:58:12I'm going to take you to my region,

0:58:12 > 0:58:15my view of the world started from there.

0:58:15 > 0:58:17I want you to have a look at it from that as well.

0:58:17 > 0:58:20- So Giorgio's going home.- Andiamo.

0:58:20 > 0:58:22Andiamo. Push down on the accelerator!

0:58:43 > 0:58:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd