Looking for "Mariola" in Ravenna, have you ever heard about this?

Let's find out togheter the reasons of this idiom in use in the city of Ravenna

photo credit Instagram @brunolekli

In the Civic Tower of the Municipality of Ravenna, in via Ponte Marino, a statue with a face now completely eroded by time and the bas-relief of a knight, who has his back to the statue, have been walled up since time immemorial. Popular tradition has called that faceless figure "Maria" or "Mariola" and since the Middle Ages this scene has inspired a saying that has spread throughout Europe (cited by Boccaccio, Cecco d’Ascoli and others ...)

What does it means?

"Searching Mariola" or Maria, or as written by Miguel de Cervantes in Don Quixote, "Buscar a Marica por Ravena" can have different meanings, from not seeing something in front of your eyes or going around wasting time , launching into a useless undertaking.

The man on horseback comes from a Roman sarcophagus while the veiled head has been the subject of a careful restoration which has made it possible to discover that it is not a female face, but a man, perhaps an emperor.

Despite this, the legend of Mariola continues.

New Video! Nuovo Video! Piacenza's Wines and Villages on my youtube channel

Region Emilia Romagna ranks first in the list of excellence delis (PDO and IGP food products).

The European Union to promote and protect agri-food products has created with the EEC Regulation no. 510/06 introducing the following brands:

PDO - Protected Designation of Origin (PDO - Protected Designation of Origin), identifies the name of a product whose production, processing and processing take place in a specific geographical area.

IGP - Protected Geographical Indication (PGI - Protected Geographical Indication), identifies the name of a product of which at least one of the stages of production, transformation or processing takes place in a specific geographical area.

All of these products rapresents a cultural heritage that involves land, people and territory since many centuries mantaining a very high standard level in terms of quality.

Emilia-Romagna, the region where I'm from, is truly a mine of tastes and agri-food products.

It is the region with the largest number of PDO and PGI products in Europe and therefore in the world, since Italy - with 290 certified products - is abundantly the queen of this ranking.

Numbers don't lie: with 44 products, Emilia Romagna has reached the European record for certification of agri-food products. To let you understand, the United Kingdom (7th in the ranking) has 61 PDO or Igp products, while Poland (8th place) has only 37.

The province of Bologna is the richest with 22 certified products, followed by Ferrara with 17 and Forlì-Cesena and Ravenna with 15. What I try to do is to tell people that are visiting Bologna somethin more about this food heritage doing private food and wine tastings or organizing a deep food tour of about 3 hours, with several tastings. Wanna try? I'm waiting for you here in Emilia Romagna!

Below is the complete list. Please consider that our pasta tradition is not included in the list otherwise it would be too long and complicated to explain!

List of Emilia-Romagna PDO and PGI products

Balsamic vinegar of Modena PGI

Traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena PDO

Traditional balsamic vinegar of Reggio Emilia PDO

Garlic of Voghiera PDO

Lamb from Central Italy PGI

Amarene Brusche di Modena PGI

Reggiana PGI watermelon

Green asparagus from Altedo PGI

Pumpkin cappellacci from Ferrara PGI

Casciotta d’Urbino PDO

Vignola cherry PGI

Coppa di Parma PGI

Coppa Piacentina PDO

Coppia ferrarese bread PGI

Cotechino Modena PGI

Culatello di Zibello PDO

Fossa di Sogliano PDO cheese

Mushroom of Borgotaro PGI

Grana Padano PDO

Chestnut from Castel del Rio PGI

Mantuan melon PGI

Mortadella Bologna PGI

Extra virgin olive oil Brisighella PDO

Colline di Romagna PDO extra virgin olive oil

Pampapato or Pampepato di Ferrara PGI

Pancetta Piacentina PDO

Parmigiano Reggiano PDO

Potato of Bologna PDO

Pear from Emilia-Romagna PGI

Peach and nectarine from Romagna PGI

Piadina Romagnola PGI

Modena Ham PDO

Parma Ham PDO

Provolone Valpadana PDO

Rice of the Po Delta PGI

Salama da sugo PGI

Cremona salami PGI

Salame Felino PGI

Piacenza salami PDO

Salame alla cacciatora PDO

Shallot of Romagna PGI

Squacquerone di Romagna PDO

White veal from the central Apennines PGI

Zampone Modena PGI

#FOOD #EMILIAROMAGNATOURGUIDE #EMILIAROMAGNAFOOD #BOLOGNAFOOD #PARMIGIANOREGGIANO #MORTADELLA #BALSAMICVINEGAR #PIADINA

Courtesy picture by Regione Emilia Romagna/Assessorato Agricoltura