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CINDY LOU DALE, CORBIS, GETTY IMAGES; ILLUSTRATION: SARAH OTLEY<br />
laughing, as the V10 engine roars into life. Avoiding the main A1, I choose<br />
instead the back roads across the flat, pastureland of Emilia Romagna, to<br />
test out my new steed. The car’s taut, precise steering and blistering pace<br />
make short work of the trip to Antica Corte<br />
Pallavicina – a grand 15th-century palace in Polesine.<br />
Once owned by Verdi, it’s now a boutique hotelcum-cook-school<br />
and one of Italy’s eight producers<br />
of the famed Culatello ham – required to hang for<br />
three years before earning its reputation – of which<br />
Prince Charles is a big fan.<br />
The hotel provides Ristorante Al Cavallino Bianco<br />
with the majority of chef Massimo Spigaroli’s raw produce, including<br />
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses, bread, salamis and wine. The chef’s alltime<br />
classic tortelli, stuffed with creamy ricotta and bitter greens is a<br />
local favourite. So, too, is his semifreddo – a deliciously nutty ice-cream<br />
cake. This intimate restaurant is a gastronomic must-dine experience.<br />
Top to bottom:<br />
Parma Cathedral;<br />
Florence at dusk;<br />
cheeses hanging in<br />
the cellar of Antica<br />
Corte Pallavicina<br />
i keep praying for<br />
the next tunnel<br />
where the sound<br />
of the engine<br />
becomes explosive<br />
Again avoiding the highways, I drive through the hills heading west<br />
from Parma; at first following the course of the Stirone River then cross<br />
country, down into the Taro valley and my next stop Borgo Casale – an<br />
exquisitely restored, medieval mountain village. The<br />
quantities of luscious homemade pasta with wild<br />
mushrooms drizzled with extra virgin olive oil<br />
presented at Casimiro e voi Ristorante makes it<br />
worth finding.<br />
The next day starts with a 50km fun-run down<br />
towards the Ligurian sea. The Lamborghini’s six-speed<br />
e-gear transmission changes up and down<br />
effortlessly, leaving me to concentrate on the road. With the top down<br />
and the V10 in full voice, I just keep praying for the next tunnel where the<br />
sound of the engine will move from theatrical to explosive. Italians love<br />
this car and my entire drive to Artimino, just 27km west of Florence, sees<br />
camera phones thrust out of car windows, which at the speeds I am<br />
32 JUNE <strong>2012</strong><br />
FLY TO bologna twice daily; Florence daily. brusselsairlines.com
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