Comune di Spilamberto

The inauguration of the exhibition “The Treasure of Spilamberto. Langobard lords at the border” will consecrate a long and demanding project that began in 2003, when the treasure of the graves preserved on the banks of the Panaro River emerged from the small cemetery of Ponte del Rio. The cemetery of Spilamberto sheds new light on the events, still not fully understood, of a crucial period in the formation of our identity. The inauguration will be, above all, an occasion to understand who we were and who we are. The territory not only characterises our origins but also our diet because food is an important part of our identity, our history and our climate and helps us to understand where we came from.

Food not only is a way to distinguish ourselves from others, but can also be a tool to understand ourselves and others, considering that in no place else like here is the enogastronomy such an extraordinary resource for the town’s economy. This is demonstrated by the inauguration in 2002 of the Museum of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar that completes an itinerary that began in Spilamberto more than 40 years ago when the Guild, an association founded to preserve and promote the culture of the Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, was established. In 2010, this inimitable product, the main attraction in Modena right behind the Romanesque Cathedral and Ferrari, drew 9,000 visitors to the museum of Spilamberto, the only one in the world dedicated to this unique example of culinary excellence. These results were made possible because the Council, for years, has invested in promoting culture, tourism and enogastronomy recognising that it is an extraordinary source of income that can help the entire local economy take off.

For these reasons and above all to share this itinerary for which the exhibition is a fundamental cornerstone in the project to promote local cultural heritage, the City Council, on 17th September, held a meeting with the association of shopkeepers “Le Botteghe di Messer Filippo” along with the owners of restaurants and bars, to discuss the exhibition and its economic repercussions. During the meeting, the discussion focused on the importance that cultural tourism can have on the local economy (considering that tourism is in fact the nation’s leading industry), on the fundamental role that shopkeepers play in providing tourist information and on how much the town and shopkeepers first and foremost can benefit from the advertising generated by such an important initiative. The exhibition can act as a springboard for developing Spilamberto’s economy, demonstrating that even cultural tourism can be business.

During the meeting the shopkeepers were asked to create menus and dishes, inspired by the Langobards, which refer to this historical period, and to develop special promotions relative to overnight stays with breakfast. And all this to give tourists, who will visit the exhibition, the opportunity to choose from among various types of menus and accommodations.

The objective is to invite tourists to visit the exhibition convincing them to spend some time in our area, encouraging them with different attractive offers, and taking them to visit the other wonders of our land.

A conference called “At the table with the Barbarians”, part of the provincial “Transromanica” initiative, was organised within the context of this value-oriented project: using the Langobard artefacts discovered as the point of departure, Prof. Andreolli described the food habits of our lands between the early and late Middle Ages while chef Paolo Reggiani spoke about recipes, spices and long-forgotten tastes.

Thanks to the cooperation of shopkeepers, in this website visitors can find many suggestions to take full advantage of a complete and diversified tourism package.Special gratitude is extended to the association of shopkeepers, “Botteghe di Messer Filippo”, and to all restaurant and bar operators who took part in the project.