May 7, 2018
We were up at at breakfast by 8am. A visit to see the production plant of Levoni, one of the top producers of prosciutto, salami, and cured meats in Parma and all of Italy, was on our list for today. After Breakfast, Darrell wanted to change some money, so walked down the block to the bank. They wouldn't exchange because he was no a regular customer. You can't seem to walk very far without seeing something very food oriented. There was even a street side vending machine with wedges of Parmigiano-Reggiano inside.
We hopped in the car and decided to stop by the Fiere di Parma (Parma Fair), which is the venue for the CIBUS Food and Beverage trade show. We wanted to get our admission credentials a day early. We quickly discovered that traffic to the Fair was horrible. There was a 7 kilometer back up, so we ended up hitting the road to make our way closer to the Levoni production facility in Castellucchio. Darrell decided to visit Mantua (Mantova), which is about 15 minutes away. Our first stop was at Palazzo del Te located just outside the Mantua city walls. Palazzo del Te was constructed 1524–34 for Frederico II Gonzaga, the, Marques of Mantua as a palace of leisure. Unfortunately it was closed, so we drove into the heart of the city.
We found a parking spot right on the Piazza Sordello, which for centuries, has been the center of Mantua's political, social and religious life. We got out and look around the piazza. The Mantua Cathedral sits on the north side of the piazza, Palazzo Bianchi sits to the west, and the gardens of the Piazza Lega Lombarda sits to the east.
I walked through the fresco covered arched walkway into the gardens of the Piazza Lega Lombarda to take a look.
I met back up with Darrell and Shaun in the piazza. We walked out the north side of the piazza and came across small pastry and sandwich shop named Pane al Pane.
Darrell took a dedicated interest in what they were offering. While he was making some purchases, I walked across the street to take a closer look at Castello di San Giorgio (St. George's Castle). I was very impressed at the extensive moat surrounding the castle. This castle was quite a build.
It was close to lunch time and I guess Darrell got hungry while buying some things at Pane al Pane. We passed by a restaurant named Osteria Piazza Sordello 26 on the way out of the piazza, so we went to take a peek at the menu, which look wonderful. So in we went. www.italialocali.com
We had some regional wines, a variety of antipasto, Parmigiano Reggiano with mostarda of apple, cured ham with a local traditional chicken salad, fried baccala salted cod (some of the best I've ever had), cheese tortelli, a chicken dish with polenta, and a fritter like dessert.
Lunch was so very satisfying. We took a look at the kitchen when we were done. It was perfectly clean and very organized.
We walked back to the car and headed off to our appointment at Levoni. We made it to the Levoni gate, but were told that we would have to drive around the complex to another entrance. Levoni was established in 1911 by the opening of their salumi factory just outside Milan. In 1913, Levoni participated in the “Modern Arts & Industry” International Exhibition, in London. Their Salame Ungherese (Hungarian Salame) was awarded the gold medal. It was said that because the judges were all British, Levoni would only win if pigs could fly. The flying pig because their company after that day. www.levoni.it
We were give a tour of the processing plant, but first had to surrender our cell phones and cameras. We then had to "suit up" in protective outer coverings, shoe booties, and hair nets. I had to use a beard net as well. Levoni is strictly a high quality producer with 100% focus on product safety. We were shown all phases of their prosciutto, salami, and specialty cured meat production. We were amazed at the integration of technology that was paired with more "by hand" work than we imagined. They had tie all of their tied salumi. We were amazed to see that they actually have trained experts using forceps and needles to search out the blood veins in ham legs to surgically connect tubing to them in order to pump the curing liquid through the veins of the leg. This assures that their prosciutto receives a very even and thorough cure. After being toured across three floors of production, we were offered espresso in their break room. The hospitality we were shown certainly equaled the high level of passion, care and professionalism they show in their production.
It was getting past 4 pm, so we got on the road and headed back to Parma. We made a stop to see what a "Lidl" market looked like. Lidl is a quality, super low price, hassle free grocer which began in Germany in 1973. They have grown to over 10,000 stores operating in 27 countries. Lidl recently has expanded to the United States, hence our interest. Their prices were unbelievably low and their selection quite extensive. I managed to take pictures of two of the Piadina bread they offered. We were interested in Piadina for use back at Corti Brothers. I wanted to take more pictures, but they had a no photo policy. They had some Orange Fanta soda in larger cans and a competitive brand, so I had to make a purchase.
We Made it back to the hotel after 6pm and went to our rooms to freshen up before dinner. We met in the hotel lounge a short time later to figure out where dinner would be. We decided to walk and take a look at what was near by. At the end of the block, we saw Salumeria Garibaldi a small corner food and wine shop. www.salumeriagaribaldi.com
We went inside to take a look. We were greated by Nicola Salvadori, the owner. Darrell said we should have something to drink, and asked Nicola if we could try something that caught his eye. Nicola opend and poured a bottle of Parma D.O. Malvasia Extra Dry Spumante, which was absolutely delicious. That drink turned into some samples of salumi. Salumeria Garibaldi offer some of the finest salumi and cheese from Parma and other regions in Italy. The samples kept coming along with a bottle of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PDO which was a minimum 12 years aged in Juniper. Nicola even brought us a cheese from the Piemonte which Darrell had never even heard of. We ended up spending a good hour and a half at Salumeria Garibaldi. We literally closed down the shop with Nicola. This ended up being our dinner, and a very satisfying one it was.
We walked back to the hotel and ended up in the lounge where Darrell wanted to do a tasting of the purchases he made at Pane al Pane in Mantua. Pane al Pane celebrated its 100th year this year. The torts were regional favorites the most unique being one made with long thin pasta. We also tried some of the Maria Luigia liquor Darrell bought from Salumeria Garibaldi. Maria Luigia was the Duchess of Parma from 1814 until her death in 1847. She was also Napoleon's second wife. The liquor is a sweet one made with lemon verbena, lemon, sugar, and sometimes basil. The tasting was quite the dessert.
After an amaro from the bar, the sugar overload signaled that it was time for bed.