The city that gave the world Parmigiano-Reggiano, traditional balsamic vinegar, and the Italian flag — and keeps all three very, very seriously
Reggio Emilia sits in the heart of the Po Valley between Parma and Modena — and quietly outranks both on the argument that it's the source of the greatest food traditions in Italy. Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) is named after Reggio Emilia as much as Parma: the protected production zone is centred here, and many of the finest affinatori (cheese agers) keep their wheels in the cavernous storehouses south of the city. Traditional Aceto Balsamico di Reggio Emilia, like Modena's, is produced from cooked grape must aged for 12–25 years in decreasing barrels of mulberry, chestnut, cherry, and oak.…
Reggio Emilia was a Roman colony (Regium Lepidi, 187 BCE) on the Via Emilia — the consular road that gives Emilia its name. In 1797 the city convened the Congress of Reggio, which produced the first official Italian tricolour flag for the Cispadane Republic, making it the birthplace of the modern Italian national symbol. The Gonzaga family controlled much of the region before Este domination; the city was part of the Papal States before Napoleon. The local communist tradition (Reggio Emilia was one of the reddest cities in Italy) gave rise to the Reggio Emilia educational approach — a globall…