New Record Super Zampone 751 kg

You know Italians are serious about pork and dried meats when the best butchers get together every year to make the largest Zampone in the world. Since 1989 the city of Castelnuovo di Rangone, in the province of Modena, has hosted the Annual FESTA DELLO ZAMPONE PIU' GRANDE DEL MONDO. This year’s masterpiece is 751 kg. I know that many Americans grimace at the thought of Zampone. Last year I wrote about one the most widely used dishes on New Years Day, Lentils and Zampone. By the comments it was clear that most thought, “ughhh, that’s gross!”

This reaction is a result of our industrially processed and packaged culture. Who among us does not love Balogna? Sometimes Bologna is known as Baloney, or the Italian immigrant’s spelling of Bologna, the dried meat most widely used in the city. Bologna and Modena, two sister cities just a few kilometers apart in Emilia Romagna, make Mortadella. Baloney is actually the Italian immigrant’s version of Mortadella. Now here is the trick. Zampone is very similar to Mortadella. Both are various cuts of pork, mixed with various spices or herbs, and allowed to cure. Zampone is a celebration of the best cuts of pork. It is reserved for the highest of holidays. It is a specialty, something to prepare on a rare occasion.

Every year on the first Sunday of December the Master Butchers of Castelnuovo offer Zampone to all who wish to participate. The one objective is to make a Zampone bigger than the previous year’s production. In 2005 they failed miserably coming up almost 100 kg light but this year’s Zampone beat all records. The Zampone is made of linen. It is then filled with the top cuts of pork with as many as 20 butcher’s working at the same time. The Zampone is completely on the 30th of November and then cooks for 60 hours in a special stainless steel pot. Sunday morning, at 11:00 the cooked Zampone is then offered, along with accompanying Lambrusco and Parmesan cheese, to thousands of visitors. The actual data is impressive:

Weight: 751 kg (1,652 lbs)
Length: 3.10 meters (Just over 10 ft.)
Diameter: 1.4 meters
Total cooking time: 74 hours
People served: 6,000
Consumed in: 1 hour!

This is a party! It is fun and if you have the opportunity to be in the area of Bologna for the first Sunday in December this is a must see!

Tags: Gourmet Foods Pork Modena Holiday Traditions Italian Holidays Italian Recipes Food and Wine Travel Italy

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Grand Premio San Marino – Ferrari Dominates

In the words of the commentators, “Ferrari is the most advanced racing machine in the Universe!” Michael Schumacher took the checkered flag in Imola after a stunning move with only 32 laps remaining while Felipe Massa finished fourth with the second Cavallino Modenese.

Ferdinando Alonso of Renault had the first three Grand Premi this year already under his belt but in a recent interview Schumi had stated that the season begins when the tour comes to Europe.

With continuing speculation concerning his retirement, Schumacher, the highest paid athlete in the world with over one billion euro in compensation over his career, showed he was not ready to sit in the boxes. With Alonso’s Renault driving a very defensive line holding Schumacher in the rear mirror Team Ferrari decided to pit and took on a new set of tires and enough fuel for 19.2 laps. The stop was executed to perfection as Alonso continued running. His lighter car, with less fuel and warm tires, turned in personal best laps of 1 minute and 25 seconds.

Schumacher returned to the course with a vengeance, pushing the now fuel heavy Ferrari with cold wheels to the limit. Several times in the following three laps the Rosso under-steered popping the wheels over the cords in the turns but Schumacher kept pushing. By the time Alonso pitted the Ferrari’s tires were hot and Schumacher pushed the Ferrari for all she was worth. Team partner Shell had just introduced a new fuel mix and the Ferrari technical team had reworked the piston rods to allow this racehorse to access another 600 Rpm cutting 0.5 seconds off the lap times.

Renault returned to the race several seconds behind Ferrari but quickly made up the time as Schumacher drove defensively. Imola is an unforgiving track. Errors not only make you lose time but also but tremendous strain on the mechanical portions of the vehicle. Alonso was convinced that Schumacher was holding him back as he aggressively attempted several passes only to be closed down by Schumacher. The frustration of the Renault team was evident as the pilot screamed back and forth with the team director.

In a surprise move the Renault team pitted again after only a few laps with the intention of repaying the favor executed earlier by team Ferrari. Schumacher pushed the Ferrari, bringing the lap times down and as Alonso exited pit row he was amazed to see the back of Schumacher’s Ferrari. Desperation set in for Alonso as Schumacher continued a defensive path, thwarting Renault’s attempts to slide by. The aggressive driving began to take its toll on the Renault and after 3 consecutive near fatal errors Alonso conceded defeat with seven laps remaining and neatly slid in behind Schumacher.

What a race! What a car! Obviously, what a great pilot! Viva Ferrari!

Tags: Ferrari Formula Uno San Marino Schumacher Renault Alonso Imola
Milan Travel Emilia Romagna Italy

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Maserati – Tradition of Excellence

The seven brothers Maserati, born between 1881 and 1898, were all employed in the developing automotive industry except for Mario an artist. In fact the trademark, the Trident, a statue in Bologna to Neptune, is attributed to Mario. The first brother to begin working on motors was Carlo who designed a single piston motor for a bicycle factory just outside of Milan. Carlo was also a rider and in 1900 held the speed record at 50 km/hour. Carlo continued to race and had a great but short career and died at the age of 29.

Carlo had brought his brother Alfieri to work with him in the various automobile companies he represented. Upon the death of Carlo, Alfieri took his brothers place and in 1914 rented an empty warehouse to build racecars. Alfieri was hired by team Diatto, where he won numerous Grand Premio. Given his capabilities as pilot and technician, Diatto asks him to take over the design of their cars.

The first fully Maserati car was created in 1926 and in its debut won its class driven by Alfieri. In 1929 the V4, with a 16 cylinder motor, established the world speed record at 246 km/hour.

In 1937, following the death of Alfieri, the Maserati brothers sold the company to the Orsi family of Modena and the plant is moved to Modena where it stands today. The brothers remain in the company and continue to develop high quality racecars dominating Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Talbot. The golden years continue through 1967 during which time the company could do no wrong. In 1971, as Italy is facing social changes and competition from lower wage countries, Citroen purchases the company. Several interesting models, including my Quattroporte, were introduced but the vehicles suffered from quality problems. In 1993 FIAT, who had moved its mass production vehicles to Poland, purchased Maserati and initiated a complete reorganization of the company returning to the values of quality and innovation. The new models are beautiful, fast, and sure.

I owned a Quattroporte. This was a marvelous vehicle even though it suffered from some of the quality problems of the Citroen era. This 4 door vehicle was an innovation, larger than both the Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. It drove like a sports car but was comfortable enough for a 5 hour drive. When you started the motor it was like a 1960s muscle car, tight in the turns and with tremendous power. It was not only fast; it was quick. This was a dream car and priced about 25% under the Ferrari remained relatively affordable.

Maserati is born on the racetrack and you can feel it from the time you open the door. This is the kind of car that you take out in the middle of the night, turn the stereo up, and run the roads. The adrenalin rush is impressive. This was the first car that I drove where the car would hug the road tighter the faster it went. Accelerating into the curves you could feel the car sit to the inside. Finally it would stop on a dime. An incredible experience for those who love their cars, this is a must stop during any vacation in that includes Emilia Romagna.

Tags: Maserati Racing Modena Emilia Romagna Italy

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Ferrari – Il Cavallino Modenese

Ferrari the horse of Modena – Pride of Italy

Maranello, Italy is home and birthplace of the premier sports car in the world, the Ferrari. As a young pup, while I still was programming, I had the opportunity to write some code for the quality assurance program in Ferrari’s manufacturing plant. To be able to do this I spent about six months with the technicians learning what they did and why they did it that way. I met many of the team for the formula 1 car and at lunch would grill anyone I had at the table about Ferrari, its history, and how they did things.

Some interesting trivia about Ferrari, it may be outdated but the basic information should be valid. Every Ferrari is made by hand. A crew follows the car from start to finish. Each piece is documented and tested both before and after being mounted. The quality control is incredible. A car that is “born bad”, never leaves the shop. If a car has a rattle or unconfirmed noise the company will find it, fix it, test the car on the track, and finally replace the tires before giving it back to the client.

I have never owned a Ferrari, but have driven many. I can assure you this car is worth the price tag. It will last forever. At that time, Ferrari produced 2,500 units a year, 2,000 were sold in the United States. There was a six month wait for a Ferrari in the US and almost two years in Italy. The Italian version was faster than the US version due to the excess weight on the US version for side intrusion bars and vehicle emission stuff on the motor.

Ferrari is also a prime contender in Formula One, Two and Three, but when they talk about the “Rossa” they are talking about the Formula One. Formula One is exciting and widely followed in Italy. National pride abounds when these handmade cars hit the track. This link is to a site, in Italian, that has the various races tracks and teams. Check it out even if you do not read Italian, the graphics are fantastic and data is data. Michael Schumacher or “Sciumi”, pronounced shumy, is a hero in Italy.

Maranello is about 20 km south of Modena, a great vacation destination by itself. It is a small town where everything is developed around the car manufacturer. Great little restaurants, bars and hotels offer extremely high quality service at a reasonable price but the main attraction is the plant and its private testing track.

The factory is located on the Via Abetone Inferiore; This is primary road entering the town. It is not possible to tour the factory without the help of your dealer. Guided tours are sometimes arranged exclusively for dealers and their customers and for Ferrari Clubs. But everyone can have a look into the entrance hall of the factory that is generally open to the public. Various exhibits are on display there regularly, ranging from current production to Formula One cars.

A nice place for all "Ferrari spotters" is Via Musso right next to the factory. Every car going to the test track enters and exits the plant here. This includes customer cars, Formula One cars and the new prototypes.

Ferrari’s private test track is located at the end of the Via Dino Ferrari. There are some small streets that end right on the fence of the track; great photo shots if you have a 200m zoom lens. The Fiorano track is used regularly for Formula One testing, check F1 schedule - no testing one week before a race. Ferrari also tests its prototypes and normal production cars.

Check out Ferrari’s museum in Via Dino Ferrari. The Museum is open daily, except Mondays, between 9.30 h and 12.30 h and from 15.00 h to 18.00 h.

There are many hotels available; I would stay at the "Hotel Domus", located right in the heart of Maranello in Piazza Libertà 38. The phone is +39/0536/941071. This hotel was the favorite lodging for the Grand Prix drivers in the old days. If you are looking for something more upscale the "Executive Hotel" in Fiorano is also nice. Address: Via Circ. San Francesco 2, I-41042 Fiorano. Tel.: +39/0536/832010.

Here is a list of restaurants and bars where you can find great food and talk about Ferrari with those in the know:

Ristorante Giardino Dei Tigli
209 Via. Abetone Superiore
0536-940067

Ristorante Gatto Verde
162 Via. Abetone Superiore
0536-941169

Ristorante Da William
1 Via. Flavio Gioia
0536-941027

Ristorante Nuova Estense
2248 Via. Nuova Estense Pozza
0536-948225

Ristorante Cavallino - Customers hang out
1 Via. Abetone Inferiore
0536-941160

Ristorante La Scalinata
356 Via. Abetone Superiore
0536-941041

Ristorante La Gazzella416
Via. Vandelli Gorzano
0536-941079

Ristorante Trattoria Frascinotti
20 Via. S. Antonio Torre Maina
0536-941441

Trattoria Zanichelli
Via. Vandelli
0536-941851

Ristorante Piccola Sardegna
6 Via. Chiesa
0536-941300

Osteria Il Postiglione
143 Via. Abetone Suoeriore
0536-945307

Bar Trattoria La Fontana - Scuderia Ferrari hang out
57 Via. Vignola
0536-941024

On a personal note: The TestaRossa (red head) is my favorite Ferrari of all.

Technorati Tags: Ferrari Formula One Modena Maranello Italy

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