Duck into a small salumeria - specialist food stores which sell cured meats, cheeses, and regional ingredients - your host knows exactly which ones make the best mortadella, a smooth textured pork sausage, salame, parmigiano, and pecorino cheese.

Celebrate local flavors, and genuine ingredients, and get a sense of the food culture in an authentic and historical environment at a traditional osteria. 

Visit a generations-old, specialty pasta store and sample a few varieties - it’s important to know your tortellini from your tortelloni! Admire the biggest covered market in town, the Mercato delle Erbe, for a true taste of Bolognese tradition where everything is made with ‘zero-kilometer ingredients’, from silky tagliatelle alla ragù to freshly-baked focaccia.

Weave your way under porticoes and through the earthy-red streets of Centro Storico, the historic center and heart of Bologna. Peruse the Quadrilatero, a pocket of lanes between Piazza Maggiore and the Due Torri that’s been home to a gastronomic market since the Middle Ages, and stop by Osteria del Sole, the locals’ favorite, a no-frills eatery that’s hidden nearby.

Amble further west and sneak into a foodie’s paradise, the Mercato delle Erbe - far enough away from the main tourist trail to be free of selfie-stick-wielding tourists but still within the historic walls of the center. Bliss out at gelateria Galleria 49 - still known locally by its old name, “Stefino” - a humble-looking kiosk that serves some of the creamiest gelato in town.