Food and Wine

Whether in the morning, afternoon or night, a steaming piadina (the fl at, unleavened bread of Romagna) is a taste sensation.

Check it out in one of the many stalls dotted along the local roads – the more crowded it is, the better the piadina. Although the basic ingredients are the same, there are several varieties of piadina, all of which are delicious with any kind of fi lling.

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For instance, try it with one of the typical soft white cheeses, such as the delicate squacquerone, ricotta or raviggiolo, or the renowned formaggio di fossa from Sogliano al Rubicone, which has a stronger fl avour. Formaggio di fossa (literally, "cave cheese") is matured in dark underground caves, following a method derived from the 15th century.

The result of this process is what the local poet Tonino Guerra called “sheep’s milk cheese with a wild undertone”. Piadina is also perfect with typical salami like ciccioli (pork crackling) and spiced salami from Mercato Saraceno. The land around Forlì and Cesena also yields fi ne fruit and vegetables such as IGP peaches from Romagna, cherries (from Longiano, Castrocaro, Civitella di Romagna), truffl es and mushrooms from the Apennines.

Excellent extravirgin olive oil is produced in the surrounding hills.

And last but not least are the abundance of DOC wines: from DOCG Albana di Romagna to the king of local reds, Sangiovese, followed by Trebbiano, Pagadebit, and sweet Cagnina.