Iconic Italy Workout
Emilia, Italy
Let your taste buds run wild in the pulsating heart of Italian food culture and experience the best of some of Italy’s most iconic culinary delicacies. Emilia is all about indulging yourself and discovering a whole world of tradition and history behind every single flavor. It’s also home to some of Italy’s most outstanding restaurants and chefs, such as the world renowned Osteria Francescana and Chef Massimo Bottura. It’s a place where incredibly hospitable people are immensely proud of their culinary heritage and excited to share it with you.
SEASON
Available all year round.
ACTIVITY LEVEL
PRICING
EUR 2900 per person
for 3 nights. All inclusive.
Minimum 2 people.
Reduced rates for groups.
SEASON
Available all year round.
PRICING
EUR 2900 per person
for 3 nights. All inclusive.
Minimum 2 people.
Reduced rates for groups.
Getting there
Emilia, with its rolling hills and mountains, fertile planes and famous towns and cities, is perhaps one of the easiest areas of Italy to travel to. It’s connected by high-speed train to Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples… Also, by car it’s very simple as Bologna is very well connected whether you’re coming from North or South.
This is a perfect destination to combine with a visit to Florence or Milan before or after your workout, being en route from one to another. It will immerse you into a world of incredible food, wine, landscapes and culture, offering you something different enough to make your pre or post city visits all the more enjoyable.
Workout Highlights
Visit the incredible city of Bologna and experience one of its finest Osterias.
Eat at two Michelin-starred establishments.
Hunt for truffles with a local in the forests of the Emilian Apennine hills.
Experience the wonders of an ancient balsamic producer and taste some of the very best.
Dine with a local winemaker at the family table.
Stay in the exclusive lodgings owned by a three Michelin-star chef.
Learn to make Emilia’s world-famous tortellini.
Visit a parmesan cheese producer and see how this incredible product is made with raw cow’s milk.
The Workout
Discover the secrets of those Italian delicacies and recipes famous throughout the world. A journey for your taste buds, your mind, and your imagination as secrets to techniques and traditions of incredible artisanal products of this region of Italy are unlocked and revealed to you. It’s an immersion into the stories and heritage of people, their families, and their unique relationship to the food and wine they produce. A pilgrimage to one of the world’s greatest culinary centers, and to one of the world’s most famous chefs—Massimo Bottura.
What you can expect
Wine
Emilia has a long tradition of winemaking and is known for the Lambrusco wine, of which there are some outstanding examples. You will discover, however, there’s much more underneath the surface when it comes to wine and winemaking in this part of Italy. The wild and curvy hills around Bologna towards Tuscany are the prelude for a thrilling dive into a wine culture where reds like Barbera and Negretto or whites like Pignoletto, both sparkling and dry, make the perfect stage for some classical pairing to the local Emiliana cuisine.
Dine
Parmesan cheese, tortellini, balsamic vinegar, Parma ham—you will be treated to some of the very best examples of Italy’s most iconic products, and you will try them in different ways and in different settings. From Italy’s only Michelin-starred Slow Food Osteria in a tiny mountain village, to the cellar of a historic balsamic vinegar producer, and to the incredible cuisine of the one and only Chef Massimo Bottura.
Exercise
Emilia is a place for lovers of Italian food, and you will need a sense of adventure for eating, drinking, and experiencing so much abundance. Nevertheless, there will be room for just enough exercise to keep your metabolism working and to enjoy the outdoors and beautiful nature Emilia has to offer. Truffle hunting, strolling amongst vineyards and foraging for wild herbs and greens with a chef, and more.
Learn
You may well have tasted and even be passionate about some of Emilia’s most well-known products, such as parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar. However, by the end of this workout, you will also understand and appreciate the intricacies and experience needed to make them while deepening your knowledge of the flavors and tasting subtleties. You will also discover the depth and array of recipes born from this corner of Italy and the stories behind them.
Lodgings
Your first night will be spent in a family establishment in a small and charming Apennine Mountain village, where the owner is also the patron of Italy’s only Michelin-starred Slow Food Osteria. Here it’s all about the rustic charm and simplicity of the Emilia mountains, culminating in an evening dinner in the famous osteria.
The following nights will be in the lap of luxury, and with world-class culinary credentials as well, in the exclusive Casa of the famous chef Massimo Bottura and his wife Lara. Incredible service, beautiful rooms, stunning gardens and the cuisine of Chef Bottura and his Osteria Francescana restaurant.
Your local hosts
You will encounter the warm hospitality of the people in Emilia.
In this region, food and family traditions are intrinsically linked, and the locals love to share their time and the stories and flavors of their heritage.
One of Italy’s most knowledgeable food and wine artisan experts, a born-and-bred local of Emilia, will guide and introduce you to the people and places on this iconic workout.
