On the misty and rather chilly morning of day 2, our first stop of the day would lead us to a family cheese dairy, where we'd get to know the process of Parmesan production.
A wonderful educational journey from observing what it takes to complete each step...
... to the huge cheese storage where cheese loaves are aging...
... as well as the norms each piece has to achieve until it can be sold as a top-quality "Parmigiano Reggiano".
A cheese and wine tasting later, we'd be on our way again. Next stop: the Villa Verdi in Sant'Agata, which - as the name implies - used to be home of the famous Italian composer in the last decades of his life.
Part of the house that is still inhabited by descendants of his cousin can be visited as a museum, alongside with his coaches and a huge, beautiful park.
Needless to say, the nearby town of Busseto is closely associated with the musician, too. The opera star, who used to live here before moving to his estate, is nowadays present everywhere, which may easily lead to a Mozart/Salzburg association.
In contrast to the Alpine city, however, the Italian place again displayed many empty shops and closed cafes during the mid-day hours.
No siesta for douchebags who don't care to park their car properly, though. And although the selfishness is usually dismissed as "just a minute" or "doesn't hurt anyone", it was physically painful to watch an old gentleman trying to park his car on the designated disabled spot, only to give up a couple of attempts later, parking on the very end of the street and slowly going all the way back to do his errands despite his obvious walking disability.
Lucky for douchebag, he didn't come back until we were in town, even though I'm not sure what I could have called him given my Italian is barely good enough to order a pizza.
Next stop: the castle of Soragna, which is home of the Meli Lupi family and offers a rich interior full of colourful paintings, statues and other treasures.
Once past the entrance area and up the main staircase...
... incredible rooms and hallways will open up, each decorated in a different style - a wonderful sight to walk through, as well as a wonderful example of how a privately-owned castle can be maintained and shared with the public!
Another town, another fort: Sanvitale castle in Fontanellato, one of your typical medieval buildings surrounded with a (rather dirty) moat.
And even though the walls here, too, hide much to see, I just couldn't fall for it as much as I did for Soragna. Is it because you just can't compare the two very different castles, or did the latter look some kind of dull, seemingly neglected by the state?
In an attempt to remove any injustice, however, it has to be pointed out that Fontanellato castle certainly has some marvelous things to see: the beautiful frescoes of Diane and Acteon created by no less than Parmigianino...
... and, accessible through a garden of flowers and herbs...
... an example of a camera obscura, which will project the life on the piazza directly onto the white surface inside one of the castle's towers. What a clever way of having everything in sight without ever leaving your home.
Reality or illusion?
~ to be continued ~
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