Reggio Emilia Family-Guided Tour

Don't ever doubt Italian hospitality.

While in Reggio Emilia, my cousins Alessandro and Elisa took us all around the city center, showing us a really rich history of the city. They were so gracious and wonderful, and very sneaky about paying for lunch then acting like they suddenly didn't speak English.

I got a great tour of Reggio's best cappuccinos — I had three of them in a day which is about 2.5 more than I usually have! Coffee is integral to Italian meals. Any time we sat down at a restaurant or with family, we were offered coffee after the meal. I don't think the meal is over until you've had coffee. I've always known coffee either as a superfluous treat (for me) or as daily fuel (for family/coworkers). It was all delicious so I was glad to have a reason to try so much. For science.

Then they showed us a lot of history in Reggio Emilia, such as the gates from the ancient wall surrounding the city, Via Emilia, a road the Romans established, and beautifully painted ceilings in the H&M store. Oh, and uncovered facades on walls in the book store. And a beautiful plaza that you would swear was the inspiration for the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene. Y'know, the usual.

Point of origin of the city of Reggio Emilia, on Via Emilia

Erbazzone, a regional food - basically a pot pie crust and spinach/ricotta/etc. filling. OM NOM NOMS

One of Reggio Emilia's many squares, with tower and church residing over it.

One of the gates in the ancient wall that surrounded Reggio Emilia during Roman times.

Adorable graffiti.

Did I mention they were showing us all this stuff on the rainiest, coldest day ever, and they didn't complain even one time? Italian hospitality. Don't underestimate it!

The afternoon included visits to two cathedrals, a quick look in a museum and the pièce de résistance, Il Museo del Tricolore, a museum dedicated to the history of Italian Flag, which was created in Reggio Emilia! It was really big and had so much memorabilia related to the history of both the flag and the reunification of Italy in the 1850-70s. It was all in Italian, so I only got the gist of most things. But I also had fun translating the Italian using Spanish, and having Elisa help me fill in the blanks. Which makes me want to really learn Italian, then return so I can be immersed in it! A new challenge. (A new start?)

And then, after all of that, we went to an enormous dinner with a whole bunch of Allegris and cousins and in-laws, oh my! I am so. incredibly. happy. And full. This group opened their hearts and made us all Allegris. And even though a whole lot of none of them spoke English, we were able to piece together meaningful exchanges using the tiny amount of Italian I'd picked up, plus lots of pointing and gesturing.

A mere fraction of all the food we ate.

Lovely Elisa!

Romano

Oh, and I have a theory as to why Italians talk so much with their hands. When Italians walk around in a big group it's easy for tourists to get swept up and integrated, never to see their homelands again. And now that a foreigner is part of the family and the Italians have to figure out how to communicate, thus use giant gestures frequently. It's a working theory...