Opening day of FICO park in Bologna
15th November 2017: today is the big opening of the largest food park in Bologna called FICO.
I’m really excited to be here today with two friends who run the cooking classes during my food tours teaching how to prepare hand made fresh pasta at home!
We can start the food tour of FICO from the fields outside the park to learn more about the Italian crops and local animal breeds or from inside, where shops, farming factories, markets and restaurants are!
We decide to stay inside because it is nearly 5 o’clock p.m. and it is dark and cold!
We can also decide to ride a bicycle! Really funny.
From the main entrance going on the right we can reach the area of Italian specialities.
Factories and factories’ kiosks sell prosciutto di Parma, parmigiano reggiano and grana padano cheese, pasta, rice, tomato, milk, salt, sugar, flour mill, pizza, coffee, panettoni and biscuits, mortadella, chocolate, ice-creams, olive oil, beers, truffles, wine and much more….
Many of these factories show, through a window, how some Italian traditional products like cheese, mortadella, gelato, pasta, and typical cakes are made.
Really interesting!
We can also buy bread, ham, vegetables, fruits and many other stuff during the journey, put everything in our shopping cart and pay for at the checkout, at the end of the tour!
Continuing our food tour we will find six multimedia carousels which are really nice also for children. Among them "man and fire", "man and animals", "man and earth". The most interesting, in my opinion, are the ones about plants and fire!
Another interesting area is the one dedicated to beach sports: Mini golf, paddle tennis and beach volley. We could book our lessons too!
It is like a piece Romagna sea right in the center of Bologna!
Good seafood restaurants and sea food shops are nearby...
Before going out and pass through the market and bazaar we can reach a place dedicated to wine and Balsamic vinegar where it is possible to make tastings and buy bottles of fresh wine and vinegar. Not to be missed!
It is nearly 8 p.m.! We decide to have dinner in one of the 40 restaurants of FICO...
It is time to go home now! We have spent three relaxing hours in this incredible new FICO park! It is really worth visiting!
If you are planning to come to Italy and especially in Emilia Romagna region, do not miss the opportunity to spend a couple of days downtown Bologna.
You can book my tour, focused on food, so that you could visit the center of the city and also the FICO park to learn more about the "Bolognese" and Italian culinary specialties.
Should you need more information about the tours and experiences in Emilia Romagna write me an email and I will be really pleased to help you organizing your private escorted tour of Bologna and FICO!
