When Catherine, Princess of Wales, announced her first overseas visit in three years would be to Italy this week, heads turned. Of all the places she could have chosen in the Bel Paese for a cushy outing, she picked Reggio Emilia, in the northern Emilia Romagna region.
‘It’s not the most interesting city,’ as my friend from nearby Modena said when he heard the news.
But perhaps Kate – whose visit is focused on the pioneering Reggio Emila approach to early-years education – was pioneering a different kind of travel.
As Italy’s major destinations become increasingly overwhelmed by spiralling visitor numbers, savvy travellers are looking to lesser-known areas for a more authentic experience.
As my friend suggests, Reggio Emilia is a B-list city in terms of Italy – but that’s like saying Kane is a B-list footballer compared to Messi. If Reggio Emilia were a city in any other country, it would be on the must-see list.
It has culture and history in spades – including a deep-rooted connection with Italy’s mafia – and, as part of Emilia Romagna, it enjoys some of the best food and wine in the country.
The Princess of Wales pictured meeting a baby, named Elena, during her two-day visit to Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy yesterday
As well as being the birthplace of Italy’s famous green, white and technicolour flag, the region is home to Parmigiano Reggiano, dubbed the ‘King of Cheeses’, and the popular 80s wine Lambrusco.
Enjoy a glass of local lambrusco outside Caffè Europa in Piazza Prampolini, and you’ll be immersed in one of Italy’s great, sweeping squares – bordered by arcing loggias, the town hall and clocktower, and the Renaissance façade of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta directly opposite.
Inside lie works by Renaissance greats Guercino and Palma il Giovane, while the cupola was frescoed by the 18th-century Emilian artist Francesco Fontanesi, who did much of the decoration for Venice’s La Fenice opera house, including its original curtain.
Kate studied art history at St Andrew’s, of course, and there’s plenty in Reggio to keep art-lovers happy. The Galleria Parmeggiani has an El Greco, as well as works that were once attributed to the likes of Jan Van Eyck and Velazquez by Luigi Parmeggiani, the colourful entrepreneur whose collection this is.
Opt for Caffè Europa in Piazza Prampolini for a glass of local lambrusco, and you can enjoy the square’s arcing loggias, town hall and clocktower
The Chiesa della Ghiara – a time-capsule of Mannerist art, straddling the Renaissance and Baroque – is known as the “church of women” for its frescoes of Old Testament heroines from the early 1600s, as well as classical sibyls painted in one of the cupolas.
And history lovers should visit the Sala del Tricolore in the town hall, a theatrical three-storey space displaying Italy’s red, white and green flag, which was invented here in 1797.
As its approach to education shows, Reggio Emilia is fiercely modern, too. Arrive by high-speed train and you’ll glide in at a station designed by ‘starchitect’ Santiago Calatrava, whose sinuous lines make an art installation of the tracks. The Collezione Maramotti gallery, in the old headquarters of Reggio fashion brand Max Mara, traces art from the post-war period to the present, from Italy’s arte povera movement to neo-expressionism, including works by Lucio Fontana, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Anselm Kiefer.
It’s this modern pulse that marks Reggio Emilia out from its neighbours. On the bank of the Po river, 17 miles north in the hamlet of Gualtieri, is the Casa Museo Antonio Ligabue – the 20th-century naïve artist whose works are enjoying a resurgence after a blockbuster exhibition in Bologna last year. Ligabue’s paintings and sculptures are on display in the simple cottage in which he once lived.
People stand at a window to see the arrival of the Princess of Wales in Reggio Emilia yesterday
Yesterday, the princess was given the city’s highest honour – the Primo Tricolore flag – by Mayor Marco Massari, likely in part as a big ‘grazie’ for highlighting an Italian destination that’s often overlooked.
Today, Kate is set to learn some authentic Italian cooking skills on the second day of her trip, which is aimed at highlighting the region’s pioneering approach to early years education.
This is the land of pasta fresca – ‘fresh’ egg pasta, hand-rolled into gossamer-thin strips, and cut into tagliatelle to be topped with ragù, or filled – perhaps with pumpkin or wild herbs as tortelloni (served swimming in butter), or squished into jewel-sized tortellini, filled with meat and parmesan, then boiled in a hearty broth or stirred with fresh cream.
Along with balsamic vinegar, prosciutto and myriad cold cuts, parmesan is one of Emilia Romagna’s gifts to the world. Reggio is the home of “vacche rosse”, ruddy-skinned cows who produce a sweeter, less pungent cheese – even when aged for a minimum 24 months.
At the Consorzio Vacche Rosse dairy, 15 minutes from the city, you can watch the cheese-making process. Alternatively, try it in one of the salumerie (delis) in the centre – behind the cathedral, Antica Salumeria Giorgio Pancaldi has stocked the region’s finest salami and cheese wheels since 1948, and has an onsite restaurant to try its wares.
The Princess, travelling solo, has been sharing stylish photos of her visit to the region including an image of an open door looking out across picturesque countryside, and a collection of bicycles outside a shop.
The Emilia-Romagna region has long played second fiddle to some of Northern Italy’s more popular tourist destinations, including the Italian Lakes, Milan, Verona and Venice.
Grazie: The Princess shared stylish photos from her trip ahead of day two in the Emilia-Romagna region
A scenic shot of the region’s countryside, which is known for the mist that swirls above it, posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ Instagram account on Thursday
However, as the Princess has highlighted, there’s much to enjoy, including the soaring Apennine Mountains, striking medieval architecture and some serious gastronomy – and it’s much less crowded in peak season than some of its big-hitting neighbours.
Visitors wishing to follow in the royal’s footsteps this summer can bag flights to a clutch of nearby airports easily – with Bologna Guglielmo Marconi under an hour away and Verona Villafranca Airport around 90 minutes by car and train.
Ryanair has seven direct flights to Bologna daily, with prices from £44 return, with easyJet and BA also jetting in.
If you want to explore Emilia Romagna’s big-hitter destinations, Reggio has excellent rail connections. Elegant Parma and Modena, with its 12th-century cathedral, are both 15 minutes away by train.
Bologna – Italy’s foodie capital whose nearly 40 miles of porticoes are inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list – is half an hour by high-speed train. Even Milan can be reached in under an hour.
Tthe Cloisters of San Pietro, in Reggio Emilia’s historic centre
Today, the Princess is continuing her visit to Reggio Emilia and will see for herself how youngsters use nature-based learning at the Salvador Allende Scuola dell’infanzia school for under sixes.
The school places particular emphasis on outdoor learning and environmental education.
Italians following the ‘Reggio Emilia Approach’ to young education consider the natural environment as ‘the third teacher’.
Later, Kate is due to visit a creative resource centre to learn how local businesses and the wider community support early childhood education through the Reggio Emilia Approach.
Later, Kate is due to visit a creative resource centre to learn how local businesses and the wider community support early childhood education through the Reggio Emilia Approach.
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