Ravenna’s mills and passatelli
Itinerary: Ravenna, Ghibullo, Gambellara, Santo Stefano, Carraie, San Pietro in Vincoli, Coccolia, San Pietro in Trento, Filetto, Ragone, Villanova, Ravenna
This particular itinerary crosses the countryside of Ravenna, on cycling tourism paths, to discover the mills that produce the flours used to make Romagna’s famous piadina and pasta. It begins on the cycle paths of the city of Ravenna, before leaving the town centre and heading towards the farmlands of the province of Ravenna. The itinerary then continues along country roads and through small rural villages, located close to the Ronco and Montone Rivers, which are key to the area’s milling tradition. Some of the most famous mills are in Santo Stefano and Coccolia, but the real gastronomic experience comes on returning to Ravenna and a delicious dish of passatelli.
Curiosities
Passatelli
Featured in the cookery book written by Pellegrino Artusi, “Science in the kitchen and the art of eating well”, the recipe for passatelli has an extremely long tradition in the popular cuisine of Romagna. Generally served in a meat broth, passatelli are a type of pasta originally made using leftovers (like the majority of good farmhouse recipes): stale bread, hardened cheese and eggs. Their name derives from the shape of the pasta, which is obtained using a utensil with holes in it through which the squashed dough “passes”.
