Discover Brisighella: A Hidden Gem in Emilia-Romagna

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You hear of people falling in love with a person or place at first sight. I did – with Italy, 15 years ago. It got its hooks into me fast and hasn’t let go yet. My first trip was to Venice in April of 2003, and then, because I loved it so much, I came back in December of the same year to visit Florence and Rome! I hit the big three quickly. They are all stupendous in their own unique ways and are usually a traveler’s first stops, and with good cause. However, if you are lucky enough to come back and you want to get to know Italy better, then I suggest visiting smaller, less-traveled towns. Especially if you want to try regional cuisine prepared well, with integrity, and not for tourists. Brisighella in Emilia-Romagna is the perfect spot.

Gorgeous Brisighella… A Hidden Gem

Brisighella (Bree-zee-gella) is a lovely town. Whether for a day trip or a longer stay, you will be rewarded with glorious food, friendly people, charm, and a comfortable, slow pace. It’s a great place to spend a calm, lovely day without running around from site to site. This teeny little jewel of a town is located in the Emilia-Romagna region (fresh egg pasta land!), close to the Tuscan border. By train, it takes an hour to get there from Bologna and approximately 1 1/2-2 hours from Florence. Known for its prized extra virgin olive oil, local wine, and Moretto artichokes, it’s a good spot to visit if you have a priority on good eats. It also happens to be adorable, relaxing and beautiful.

Good eats…

For such a minuscule place, they have a surprising number of restaurants. People in the know from Milan, Ravenna, Faenza and other nearby towns travel there to dine. I find the quality to be high for the price. After 5 visits, I’ve been thrilled with all of the eateries my family and I have dined at. The food has been wonderful and often creative. It was surprising for me to see so many cooks in chef whites in such an out-of-the-way locale. One restauranteur told me that because there are so many restaurants, they need to keep their standards very high in order to compete. We customers definitely reap the benefits!

Food Festivals…

Another attraction the town holds for me is their frequent food festivals or sagre as they are called. Going to these kinds of festivals is a dream come true for me.  I had read about them in cookbooks, magazines and in many books and daydreamed of going to one someday. I longed to eat, drink and be merry with a bunch of locals, while grilling said locals for recipes. The problem is, is that many of these food festivals take place in the middle of nowhere. You need a car. Thankfully, Brisighella is easily accessible by train which makes it very doable. Score!

What is a sagra exactly? Held all over Italy, they are food festivals of varying size. They celebrate and serve seasonal, local ingredients or dishes. Some are great, and some, frankly… not so much. What to expect from them varies, but generally, you will eat local dishes featuring the theme ingredient or dish. Frequently, there will be live music, kids’ activities and local produce and goods to purchase.

Artichokes… wine… extra virgin olive oil…

Brisighella is well-practiced at sagre. They have them every spring and autumn and this past fall alone they had seven. In November we enjoyed a sagra celebrating Porchetta made from their locally grown pigs called Mora Romganola. (They had fries cooked in pork fat, seriously… I thought duck fat fries were good!) At another, we took some friends to gorge on lamb… After you eat, you can shop for wonderful local cheeses, wine, seasonal produce, and the kids can play in the playground across from the train station. (Which makes our day with a small child a lot easier, I can tell you that!)

Did I mention that they have a historical clock tower and a fortress perched on the hillsides above town? You might need to walk up to one or both of them to work off the over-consumption of food and wine. (They sell it by the jug.) For the kiddies and others that might not want to walk, they have a little train that will take you up to the two sites. Another treat is the Via del Borgo also called the Via degli Asini, which is a 15th-century porticoed walkway used for various purposes historically and is worth a look.

If you like to shop, seek out the little antique/knick-knack store in the center of town. I’ve had luck finding cookware, ceramics and traditional aprons and what-not. You never know what you’ll find.

Helpful Information:

With Spring arriving the new seasonal festivals will be starting in April and going full swing in May.

For more details visit: www.brisighella.org

Make sure you visit the tourist office in town to get more information on local sites. Also, there is a gift shop in town where you can purchase and sample the local wines and extra virgin olive oil, which I highly recommend. If you have a car, there is another, larger store outside of the historical center with more items to choose from and wine and oil for sale in bulk.

Recommended Restaurants:

Pasticceria Oriani
Via Fossa 28

Locanda La Cavallina
Via Masironi 6

Ristorante Stryx
Piazza Marconi 11

Cantina del Bonsignore
Via Recuperati 4/a

Framboise
Via Porta Fiorentina 16