At the Rocca, Wrapped in the Scent of Cherry Blossom: a Day in Vignola

Much water has passed under the bridge over the Panaro since the man portrayed in an ex-voto kept at the Pieve of Vignola fell from the cherry tree. It was early June many years ago, and the time had come for the harvest, long awaited and heralded by weeks of the trees blossoming, which had flooded the countryside with their white fragrance. The unlucky farmer had climbed onto a seasoned wooden ladder, skilfully made, over ten metres high, but unfortunately not well tied to the tree. The ladder gave way and he took a ruinous tumble without, however, hurting himself. This is only one of the many stories that in the town recall episodes linked to the great cherry-growing tradition of Vignola, thanks to which the cherries grown here end up on tables even in distant countries.

Every year, towards the beginning of June, the exquisite fruit is celebrated, and since 1981 the Premio Ciliegia d'Oro has also been established, awarded the following year to Luciano Pavarotti. Today Vignola, whose name comes from Vineola, recalling the Roman era when vine growing was widespread on the alluvial soils of the Panaro, is the ideal place to combine discovering the medieval historic centre with a bike ride in the surrounding countryside. During our walk we visit some of the most important churches, including the Parish Church, which preserves the Arca, a precious ash-wood sculpture by the Modenese carver Mario Baisi, a contemporary of Dante. We also admire the Romanesque pieve and some stately palaces, in particular Palazzo Boncompagni, built in 1557 to a design by Jacopo Barozzi.

And so we reach the town's most important monument, the splendid Rocca, probably built in Carolingian times to defend against the raids of the Hungarians. The Rocca was renovated and enlarged from 1401, during the Este lordship, the period of the town's greatest prosperity. Inside the Rocca we immerse ourselves in the beauty of 15th-century painting thanks to the precious cycle of frescoes that adorns the inner halls. We stay in the historic building for dinner too, stopping at the Taverna Dei Tre Mori, a restaurant and cheese shop located in what were once the stables of the Rocca. Welcoming us in the beautiful rooms, arranged over two floors and furnished with refined yet at the same time rustic taste, are the owners Federica and Diego Venturi.

The stupendous buffet of selected cheeses, topped by hanging hams, culatelli, coppe and salamis, catches the eye and the imagination, introducing us to a world of flavours where tradition and modernity complement each other perfectly. 'We believe in the combination of typical and reinvented, and so our dishes, prepared by the very skilled chef Gerardo Paglia, bring back the taste of the way it used to be, in a creative and light key,' Mrs Federica tells us, the daughter of restaurateurs who has done this job with passion for 17 years. Besides the spectacular cheese counter, we also find a characteristic open wine cellar, where you can choose the wine you want: we opt for a good Lambrusco di Castelvetro from a local producer, but we will also taste wines such as Tignanello, Amarone or Morellino.

After some welcome tapas, we taste exquisite parmesan flans with potato and leek cream with balsamic vinegar, as well as the very good alpine toma with a summer tartlet. We also taste a rich selection of cold cuts including culatello di Zibello, salame Felino and lardo ducale di Langhirano, and game cold cuts too. We continue with green tortelli filled with goat's cheese and rocket with fresh asparagus, toasted guanciale, Pachino tomatoes and basil, while our friends choose the candies filled with melting Tropea onion, cooked in its skin, in a monkfish stew. The Jerusalem artichoke soup with octopus sheet and thyme extra-virgin oil, served in the rustic homemade loaf, is very popular too.

Among the main courses we taste excellent grilled Piedmontese fassona beef, uncle Tom's rib and buffalo rib, but we also can't resist the very fragrant wild boar fillet marinated with Lambrusco, in a crust of raw ham with crushed walnuts and pear confit in red wine. Part of our group opts for the very tender Romagna blackberry coppa with Jerry puree, others delight in fresh fish dishes, while our vegetarian friend eats courgette flowers stuffed with robiola di Roccaverano baked au gratin. It will be a real pleasure to come back here also on the occasion of future company events or parties, while this time our Vignola day ends on a very sweet note, thanks to the house desserts, including the typical tenerina chocolate cake, also known as torta Barozzi, the trifle, the stracchino mascarpone and berries cake, the creme brulee cake and the duroni cherry tart.

Text: Francesca Bertha Consultancy and photographs: Valeria Balbiano

FOR INFORMATION:

Taverna dei Tre Mori - Restaurant and Cheese Shop Via Tufo, 5 Vignola (MO) Tel.: 059/761329 Facebook: Tavernadeitremori Vignola