Europe’s best kept secret holiday spot

Janice learns the art of making Passatelli from Romagnolo chef Gilberto Guidi

In the view of food and wine journalist Janice Nieder, true authenticity and sustainability make all the difference

Writing in The Examiner, well known US travel, food and wine writer Janice Nieder has divulged her secret holiday spot.

"After five years of writing" Janice said "I’ve come to that ethical crossroads that most travel writers reach at some point."

"It’s not as weighty as the dilemma that many journalists are confronted with: Should you give up your source or keep silent and go to jail? Yet this one has presented quite the conundrum. Should I reveal one of Europe’s best-kept secret destinations or keep it all to myself?"

"An ancient land that is so completely unspoiled, drop-dead gorgeous, and affordable and also has enough art, history and architecture to rival Paris or Rome yet I never saw another American there during my whole visit!"

"A magical region where even the most casual trattoria uses only the freshest regional ingredients and every dish is cooked with passion. Plus the diverse beauty of the landscape, sprinkled with silvery-green olive groves, lush vineyards, and medieval castles will literally take your breath away. Do I really want to let this rabbit out of the hat?" She said: "Let me think about it overnight."

Janice, though, is not quite the first American to venture out of the confines of Rome or Venice or Florence – this area almost escaped anonymity in 2013, when David Rosengarten wrote a rave report for Forbes Magazine that found its way into a number of  global glossies.

Titled "Italy’s Greatest Gastronomic Treasure, Emilia-Romagna", the article highlighted the "Big Five" in the Emilia area: Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and Bologna. But unfortunately for Romagna, the author stopped short.

Said Janice "If Rosengarten was that enamored by the foods of Bologna, I think he’d totally flip out with what’s happening over in the Romagna side of the culinary equation."

And there you have it – the Eastern half of Emilia Romagna, between Venice and Florence, guarded by the Adriatic Sea and sheltered by the Apennine mountains lies Romagna itself – Janice’s treasure-trove holiday secret.

She highlights just one of the many local chefs that concentrate on local, seasonal ingredients, she writes about locally-owned hotels and vineyards and local people, passionate about their homeland that benefit from tourism.

The fact is that in Romagna the value-chain is incredibly short and mass tourism is unknown, which makes prices truly affordable, quality astonishingly high and hospitality impeccable.

Read the whole article with 20 pictures HERE: http://www.examiner.com/article/divulging-europe-s-best-kept-secret-vacation-spot?CID=examiner_alerts_article

Valere Tjolle

Download a free copy of Best of Romagna HERE

More about BestofRomagna at: http://www.bestofromagna.com and http://www.Facebook.com/Bestofromagna

Find out more about Romagna on a FAM trip  HERE

And there’s more about this fabulous destination: 

Romagna becomes first Italian truly green tourism destination Put the Christmas back into Christmas.  Follow the Christmas star…   Discover the Heart of Italy   – Fireflies, Cherries and Soaring Hills – Tourism attraction from scrap  Romagna – Very Hot Metal   – Dancing in the Piazza  – Meet Romagna’s Cast    – Mayday Mayday – Romagna’s got it covered  – Kite festival   – Green and very pleasant land gets even greener

You’ve done the work now get the benefits – make your green destination visible HERE

Valere Tjolle

@ValereTjolle