Antonio Allegri da Correggio is the foremost painter of the Parma school of the Italian Renaissance, responsible for some of the most vigorous and sensuous works of the 16th century. In his use of dynamic composition, illusionistic perspective and dramatic foreshortening, says the Wikipedia, Correggio prefigured the Rococo art of the 18th century.

Academia Barilla organizes luxury cultural tours in conjunction with the Correggio exhibition, offering a full package of 3 days and 2 nights (or 4 days and 3 nights, in the deluxe version), with tour already selling since the end of September, and until January 25, 2009. 

An amazing opportunity to visit Parma during the Correggio Exhibition that places Parma among the elite destinations of the international cultural panorama. Artistic treasures from the National Gallery and frescoes of the Cathedral, San Giovanni Evangelista Church, and Camera di San Paolo are only a few of the masterpieces that will take your breath away! The city will be at its best for this unique event…don’t miss it! Follow this link on Wikipedia to discover more of Correggio’s Reinassance work in Parma.

This is the program of the gourmet cultural Correggio travel package proposed by Academia Barilla -

Day 1 – “The Correggio Experience”

MORNING: Arrival in Parma on your own (private transfer on request). Check-in at your luxury (at least 4 stars) hotel accommodation in the city. Enjoy your first Parma-style lunch.

AFTERNOON: Guided tour of Parma city center to begin a first discovery of the works of Correggio. You won’t want to miss the Cathedral and the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista with their astonishing chapels, the unique Baptistery, and the astonishing Camera di San Paolo with its frescoes.
The day will end with a delightful dinner in a well-known restaurant in the city center. Night at the hotel.

Day 2 – “The Correggio Experience”

MORNING: Breakfast at the hotel. Your day will start with a guided tour of the Correggio Exhibition to discover masterpieces of the National Gallery such as “Madonna della Scodella” and “Madonna of San Gerolamo”, just to mention the most famous ones. Enjoy your lunch in a typical restaurant in the city center.

AFTERNOON: Transfer to the hillside of the Parma province to visit the permanent collection of Fondazione Magnani-Rocca, counting works by Gentile da Fabriano, Filippo Lippi, Albrecht Dürer, Tiziano, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, de Pisis, Morandi, Burri, Canova, Lorenzo Bartolini, and many others.
Your visit will conclude with a special dinner in a private Italian Villa, which will open its doors exclusively for our guests (upon availability). After dinner, return to Parma and night at the hotel.

Day 3 – “The Gourmet Experience”

MORNING: Departure for the discovery of the gastronomic treasures that this land produces.
Visit a Parmigiano Reggiano producer to observe the time honored production method that has remained unchanged for centuries. The tour concludes with a tasting session of samples of Parmigiano Reggiano at the various stages of its aging process.
To follow, visit a producer of Prosciutto di Parma, the most famous ham of the world!
Your experience of the different flavors of Parma will end in a charming winery that will offer a rich tasting of wines paired with typical products.

AFTERNOON: You can choose between a relaxing shopping excursion at one of the most exclusive Chic Outlets in Italy or return to Parma for an arrivederci on your own to the beauties of the city.

Note: the 3 days/2 nights program here above may be subject to some modifications
Price per person (min. of 2 people): US$ 1,020.00 (VAT included)
Price per person in group (min. of 12 people): US$ 790.00 (VAT included)

In the deluxe version of “The Correggio Experience”, the package that will allow you to enjoy more of your Parma cultural and gourmet experience through a 4days/3nights stay and more initiatives, you will start Day 4 in a very intriguing way.

Day 4 – “The Cooking Experience”

MORNING: Breakfast at the hotel. Welcoming and tour of Academia Barilla, the world’s premier italian culinary facility.
Practical cooking class focused on the old recipes of the time and territory of the Correggio, taken from the prestigious books of the largest culinary library of the world inside Academia Barilla.
Lunch with the chef based on what you prepared during the course.

AFTERNOON: Free afternoon for individual visits and/or shopping through the charming streets of the center of Parma. Dinner in an elegant restaurant in the city centre. Night at the hotel.

Note: the 4 days/3 nights program here above may be subject to some modifications
Price per person (min. of 2 people): US$ 2,099.00 (VAT included)
Price per person in group (min. of 12 people): US$ 1,299.00 (VAT included)

For more info, details and booking for Academia Barilla’s cultural, culinary and gastronomic tours, including the Correggio Tour, please get in touch with Academia Barilla in Parma at +39 0521 264060 (toll-free number from Italy 800 376-116), or in the United States at the US toll-free number 1-866-772-2233.

As our readership probably remember, last year we dedicated several blog posts to the Opera Verdi Festival 2007, blogging about the Maestro as well as about the Opera Festival and the gourmet opera tours organized by Academia Barilla to allow the Italian food and opera lovers to enjoy the event at its best.

This year the Opera Verdi Festival 2008 presented an even more structured program, with plenty of opera shows at several historic theaters and locations; a full digital booklet with program and info in English is downloadable at this link from the Teatro Regio website.

Academia Barilla offered luxury gourmet and opera travel packages to enjoy the experience of discovering Verdi’s opera, the city of Parma and the Italian Food Valley in full style.

In addition to the gourmet cultural tours organized in conjunction with the Festival Verdi, Academia Barilla provides more gourmet and cultural tours to Parma and Italy’s Food Valley, that we love to call Italian Culinary Learning Vacations, as they allow tour guests to learn a lot about Italian culinary culture while enjoying a luxury vacation.

For more info, details and booking for Academia Barilla’s cultural, culinary and gastronomic tours, please get in touch with Academia Barilla in Parma at +39 0521 264060 (toll-free number from Italy 800 376-116), or in the United States at the US toll-free number 1-866-772-2233.

Thursday, September 25, is day five in the VIP gastronomy tour. After breakfast, the tour guests will enjoy an amazing half day gourmet tour to the largest city and capital of Emilia Romagna: Bologna.

Bologna’s historic centre, Europe’s second largest (after Venice) according to Wikipedia, contains a wealth of important Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque artistic monuments.

Gastronomy tour guide Frank DiMaria will lead the tour guests to the discovery of ancient culinary traditions, starting with a guided tour at the Medieval market where tour participants will explore the history, art and traditions of Bologna.

Among the highlights of the Bologna tour, the visit to a traditional bakery and pasta maker to learn about the history of tortellini and tagliatelle, and to one of the most traditional Salsamenterias, to discover secrets in the history of mortadella-making, from the third century BC up to modern times.

More culinary explorations of Bologna will reveal other secrets, such as those learnt during the visit to a traditional chocolate maker who actually invented solid chocolate, and those revealed by a lunch at a typical Bolognese downtown osteria, where to enjoy the fun-loving side and the love for food of the oldest university city in the western world, before returning to Parma for a group dinner and special end-of-tour event at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center.

Tour details may be subject to variations, so we suggest to read our blog post with complete program and tour details and to get in touch with Frank DiMaria for latest news and updates on this Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy tour.

Reach Frank on the phone by calling +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417-7587, or via email at frankdimaria@comcast.net.

Note: pictures in this blog post have been found on Google Images.

See you in Parma soon!

As from the VIP gastronomy tour program, the first highlight of day three is the visit to a local Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese artisanal producer right outside Parma. Here is a note by Frank DiMaria about the guided visit:

Visiting a “Caseificio” is like going back in time. Parmigiano-Reggiano actually has very old origins and today, like 8 centuries ago, Parmigiano-Reggiano is still made following the same traditional and genuine method. The “King of the cheeses” is made from the best milk, from the fire, and from the ability of the “cheese masters” experienced hands..

Next stop of the gastronomy tour will be a guided visit to Prosciutto di Parma producer, another unmissable Parma food culture discovery for Italian food lovers!

Along the way, there will be a “pictures time” at the romantic Castle of Torrechiara, one of the most spectacular Medieval castles as well as the one with the greatest number of visitors in the province of Parma, that houses musical events in summer.

Lunchtime in the Parma countryside, how good is that?

After the food producers Frank DiMaria will lead the tour guests to a local Parma winery and wine cellar, remember to “taste” responsibly, or you won’t make it through the rest of the day! 

After the visit to the wine cellar the group will proceed for lunch to a nearby Casale (countryside mansion), that includes a rich tasting session with typical local food products as antipasto.

Immediately after lunch the gastronomy tour will leave the Parma area to enter the province of Modena for the visit to the Ferrari Museum. The Galleria Ferrari is divided into four areas, each capable of satisfying the expectations of competition fans and those passionate about classic cars with Formula 1 and Ferrari memorabilia, themed exhibitions, technological innovations and photographic shows.

While in the Modena area, the gastronomic tour couldn’t have missed the visit to an authentic Acetaia of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.

We visited a couple of acetaias for you at the beginning of last year and you can find several info, pictures and videos on our blog on the history of Balsamic, its aging process and traditions in balsamic vinegar making. We also published a blog post with plenty of pictures from the Acetaia, enjoy!

Of course the in-person, guided experience is more intense than reading a blog post, and Frank DiMaria will help you discover first hand all the century-old secrets of the production, aging and tasting of the Modena elisir.

A note from Frank about the Traditional Balsamic of Modena’s production process:

When time means preciousness! This is a real Jewel for all gourmets; unique from all other vinegar based condiments because it is produced directly from grape juice.

Traditionally, white and sugary grapes are used, locally harvested. The grapes are crushed and the “must” is then slowly boiled in open vats over fire. The liquid is then placed in wooden barrels and through an oxidation process over several years it is transformed into vinegar.

It has fluid and syrup like consistency, offers full and rich flavour and a distinct sharp and unmistakable but pleasantly acid fragrance with a dark brown color, yet full of warm light.

Wow, such an intense gourmet day, and it is not over yet! After discovering the secrets of Balsamic Vinegar, Frank DiMaria will take the VIP tour guest for dinner at one of the best gourmet restaurant of the area, famous for the use of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar in culinary creations.

Tour program details may be subject to variations - see the program and tour details on our blog but please verify directly with Frank DiMaria for latest news and updates on this Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy tour.

You can reach Frank by calling +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417-7587, or emailing him at frankdimaria@comcast.net.

Next blog post for this Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy virtual tour: let’s visit Bologna, the capital of Emilia-Romagna!

After exploring Parma’s locations and initiatives included in the gastronomic tour with a previous post, today we will discover all the learning, teamworking and fun moments the tour guest will enjoy at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center.

Located right in front of the 5-star hotel where the tour guest will stay in Parma, the Academia Barilla Culinary Center will be like a second home in Parma for the VIP tour participants.

On Monday, September 22, day two of the VIP gastronomic tour, the first learning and fun moment at Academia Barilla is guaranteed. After breakfast, tour guests will be welcomed to Academia Barilla with a guided tour of the Culinary Center and the first hands-on cooking session in the morning, that ends with a group lunch based on the gourmet dishes cooked together.

Two days later, after discovering Parma, the Italian Food Valley with all its century-old food culture secrets (artisan food production, Medieval castles, the culinary culture and food specialties of Modena and Bologna) and right after a morning walking trip to the local outdoor market, a second hands-on cooking class at the Academia will focus on a menu that includes all the traditional gastronomy products discovered during the entire VIP gastronomic tour.

The group lunch in Academia Barilla that follows will be prepared by the tour participants, more food fun after the food learning!

Academia Barilla will be stage for a “farewell event” with group dinner also on the evening of day five of the 6-day VIP gastronomic tour, with a gourmet dinner menu prepared by the Chefs of the Academia Barilla Culinary Center the tour guest have known in the previous days.

We cannot really synthesize in a blog post the experience of learning how to cook, how to taste traditional food products and enjoying top gourmet food at Academia Barilla, you really have to experience it directly.

In case you missed an article we published a couple of weeks ago, did you know that Gourmet magazine just listed the Academia Barilla Culinary Center in Parma among the world’s best cooking school, ranking our Culinary Center among the top 5 schools in the world for the category “Luxury cooking schools“?

Also, there may be the chance you will be interviewed for our blog about your experience at Academia Barilla and with the VIP gastronomy tour, as we will be there too! You could end up also being a testimonial for our Italian Food Lovers blog! See you soon in Parma at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center!

Remember that the tour program may be subject to variations - check out the program and tour details published here and just stay tuned with Frank DiMaria for latest news and updates on this Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy tour. For more info and booking call Frank at +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417-7587, or email him at frankdimaria@comcast.net.

Next blog post for this series: artisan food producers, a Medieval castle and the Ferrari Museum!