Italian Culinary Adventures at Academia Barilla

In today's lesson you'll experience an amazing culinary adventure my parents had in Parma, Italy.

Imagine picturesque markets, stunning landscapes, and mouth-watering food around every corner. Back in 2011, Mom and Dad traveled to this gastronomic paradise. They mingled with locals, enjoyed early morning market trips, and even caught up with Dr. Francesco, a top professor at the local university hospital over an espresso. But the highlight of their trip was the visit to Academia Barilla, Italy’s ultimate culinary institution.

Academia Barilla isn't just a place—it’s an experience. With a massive library of rare cookbooks, historical menus, and a top-notch kitchen, it's a haven for food enthusiasts. Dad was treated to a lecture on Italian cooking history and got to explore the rich culinary traditions of Emilia-Romagna.

From discovering the secrets of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to tasting the exquisite Balsamico di Modena, their trip was a feast for the senses. And did you know that some locals use cheese wheels as collateral for loans? Only in Italy!

Their visit ended with a warm “arrivederci” and a wealth of culinary knowledge. Academia Barilla continues its mission of promoting Italian cuisine, and my parents left with unforgettable memories and a newfound appreciation for Italy’s rich food heritage.

It is a clear and evergreen morning in Fogelsville where all is calm. I hope your day is going well. I recently published “We Talk with God.”

We Talk with God is a scripture-based guide to God’s advice that will bring you peace and enrich your life.

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In September 2011, Judy and I traveled to Parma, Emilia Romagna, Italy. How blessed we were to be enjoying traveling in one of the most livable cities in Italy. We stayed in Residence Le Volte Apartments. We shopped at the open-air markets early each morning. We enjoyed the unique and beautiful landscape and antiquity that awaited us around every corner.

I met my friend and colleague Dr. Francesco, the Professor and Director of Orthopedics at the University Hospital in Parma, for a morning expresso. It was fun discussing my sabbatical time in 2000 at the Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli in Bologna and his assent to his present responsibilities. The Professore, Dottore has moved up the steep academic ladder in Italia.

Before I left home, I scheduled an interview and sent some questions to Academia Barilla to gather information for my next book. Barilla, sound familiar? Yes, you are correct, it is the family that produces the Barilla pasta. The Italian is a “slow food” aficionado, from the homemade meal in the smallest hilltop kitchen of Sicily to the kitchens in Villa D’Este on Lake Como. Italians are passionate about eating and cooking and all things culinary.

Emilia-Romagna is the gastronomic center of Italy. It is in north central Italy and stretches to the Adriatic Sea. Bologna is the capital of the province, a fertile, low-lying plain, and includes the Po, Secchia and Reno rivers. Centuries of reclamation by the Venetian and Romagnian citizens and the sea breezes have made the Po Delta soil fertile for growing the “Riso (Rice) del Delta del Po IGP”.

When we visit Emilia Romagna, we find the delicious Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Parmaggiano Reggiano Fattoria (Farm), aging warehouse.

Of interest is Crédito Emiliano, that offers small business loans in exchange for the collateral of gold colored aging wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Borrowers provide Parmigiano-Reggiano  cheese wheels as collateral, like gold, for a 75% credit line while their cheese ages in two high-security warehouses. This arm of Crédito Emiliano, called Credem, holds an average 365,000 wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano, aged 12 to 48 months, made by a consortium of over 3,000 farmers in the area. These assets are, at any given time, worth an average $240 million.

In this region of Italy, Balsamico di Modena awaits us. Authentic balsamic vinegar is made from Trebbiano and Lambrusco grapes. The grapes are pressed and cooked resulting in 66% reduction to a thick grape syrup called mosto cotto (cooked syrup). This is aged for a minimum of 3 to more than 25 years in open casks exposed to oxygen and extremes of winter and summer temperatures. The casks are made of Juniper, oak, locust, or cherry woods and the syrup is reduced to smaller and smaller volumes over years. Authentic Balsamico di Modena, aged 25 years is priced at $75 per oz.

Balsamico di Modena aging room

About a 30-minute (20 mi.) drive northwest of Parma, along the slow-running canals and through the vibrant vegetation of the Po Valley, I arrived in the small town of Polesine Zibello. Its farmers produce the aged Culatello di Zibello from the prime one-half of the Prosciutto di Parma. In Zibello, I joined an impromptu lunch (pranzo) with several retired men (uomini in pensione) at the outside tables of the Trattoria (informal eatery) Leon d’ Oro. They were enjoying chilled Prosecco, a white sparkling wine, produced in the Friuli-Venezia region, and stuzzichini (finger food). At about noon, the gentlemen’s wives brought them Culatello and Parmigiano Reggiano and homemade bread. We spoke fondly about things American. It was an authentic experience.

Culatello di Zibello, aging room

On a sun-filled Fall Day in Parma I, dressed in business attire, drove to the Academia Barilla where I was greeted by the Head of Marketing who introduced me to the Executive Director, Gianluigi.

Academia Barilla, Parma Italy, 2023

I was given a tour of the Academia including the internationally famous Barilla Library. The Academia includes a quality kitchen where their chefs provide master classes for visiting chefs and other groups. I, an audience of one, was seated in the Lecture Hall and I experienced a formal presentation of the History of Cooking in Italy. I took notes.

State of the Art Lecture Hall, Academia Barilla, 2011

The Barilla Company was founded in 1877 by Pietro Barilla Sr. as a bakery shop in Parma, Italy. The company expanded and in 1910 Barilla inaugurated a new pasta factory equipped with a "continuous baking" oven. After the passing of Pietro, his sons Riccardo and Gualtiero increased production and distribution of products. Over the course of the 1920s and 1930s, Barilla became an important bread and pasta company in Italy.

The G.R.F. Barilla Pasta, Parma, Italy 1910

As Italy emerged from WWII in 1945, Pietro Barilla Jr. and his brother, Gianni Barilla, took over the family business. The reopening of the economy allowed Barilla to expand. This expansion was driven by a fateful visit Pietro Jr. made to the United States in 1950. Pietro Jr. learned of new and innovative ways to advertise and sell products for a mass market. He also adopted new packaging, using cardboard boxes. Pietro Jr. applied lessons he learned in the USA to the big expansionist push that Barilla conducted in Italy in the 1960s.

Academia Barilla is the authentic Italian culinary experience in Italy that promotes Italian culture through food. The Barilla Team is the European Ambassador of culinary “slow food” excellence. And it's precisely this knowledge of the Italian gastronomic culture that is created in a library filled with a treasure trove of meticulously selected information.

The Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library contains over 15,000 volumes; with a precious collection of menus; historical prints tracing the evolution of trends of art, cuisine and society and a literary and artful culinary tour of the world from the sixteenth century to the present day. The Barilla Library contains a thousand manuscripts in original single copies. A significant part of this work can also be consulted online in the Academia Barilla Digital Library. At Academia Barilla, culture and food feed off each other.

The library also contains: 70 rare periodicals that are no longer published; an impressive collection of 5,000 historical menus, from the early nineteenth century to the late twentieth century; and an eclectic collection of 150 antique prints on the gastronomic theme.

Science in the Kitchen, the Art of Eating Well, Practical Handbook for Families, Compiled by Pellegrino Artusi, 1911

Academia Barilla’s diet is plant based, healthy, tasty and with a low impact on the Planet. They are the main Ambassadors of Mediterranean cuisine. Academia Barilla is a real and virtual link to Italian cuisine at a global level. “Food is a spontaneous way of expressing oneself, of connecting with others and living life. Food is universal and the oldest form of art. Something to enjoy with all the senses.”

Food and life are represented in the engraving “The Rich Man and Lazarus”. It is a biblical parable by Jesus (Luke 16:19–31) that tells the story of a wealthy man (Dives) and a poor beggar named Lazarus. The Rich Man lived a life of luxury, dressing in fine clothes and feasting sumptuously every day. He ignored the suffering of a beggar named Lazarus who lay at his gate, sick, starving and covered in sores. Weak and desperate Lazarus longed for even the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table.

Both men died. Lazarus was carried by angels to Abraham’s side while the rich man was buried and found himself in the torment of Hell. From Hell, the rich man saw Lazarus with Abraham and begged for relief. He asked Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool his tongue. Abraham explained that there was a great chasm between them, thus preventing any passage.

The Rich Man and the Poor Lazarus by Johannes Sadeler, based on Jacopo di Bassano, il Vecchio’s work, [c 1598, Spencer Museum of Art 1990]

In the engraving, Lazarus is seen from behind, and The Rich Man at the far end of the table. The servants are preparing food. The wall has a display of pots and the aging game and a broken egg in the foreground, a boy taking a basket with eggs from under the table. The contrast between wealth and poverty is vividly portrayed.

This parable emphasizes the importance of compassion, kindness, and caring for others during our earthly lives. It serves as a reminder that our actions have consequences, both in this life and the next.

After the presentation, we discussed my questions over tasty appetizers. I was presented with the First Edition of “Cucina Mediterranea: (Mediterranean Kitchen: Aromas and tastes of the Italian tradition, 2011, produced by Academia Barilla.) After a pleasant culinary education, we said goodbye (arrivederci). Academia Barilla continues its mission of research and dissemination of the Italian gastronomic and cultural heritage.

Until next time, God bless you and stay well.

George A. Arangio, M.D.

P.S. Keep We Talk with God at your bedside and share it with your family.

P.P.S. Please ask three (3) of your family and friends to read We Talk with God. It may be the answer to their prayers. And give a rating and a review. Thank you.

Summary:

Young George A. Arangio's journey of faith and perseverance: From supporting his grandmother through cancer to his journey at Cornell University, and how faith guided him through life's challenges, leading to his spiritual writings.

George A. Arangio, M.D., is the author of We Talk with God, a scripture-based guide to God’s advice that will boost your spiritual energy, bring you peace, and enrich your life. It is full of simple lessons. It shows how God’s Word guarantees answers to life’s important questions. It may also be the answer to your prayers. Please read it and write a review on Amazon.com. For further insights and discussion, visit WeTalkWithGod.com.