“You might find this interesting because in Los Angeles you don’t have any piazzas,” Stefano, my trekking guide told me over morning cappuccino.
Sitting in Vignola, a small town in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, I felt transported back to a time when the center of social interaction was not a computer nor a smart phone, but an open space in the city center where after-dinner drinks, trade, most neighborly banter, and even public wealth displays took place daily.
For thousands of years this was the case in small and large Italian towns alike. Â It was a cultural staple steeped in tradition, but due to one dramatic and traumatic moment in history, nearly everything changed.

Emilia Romagna, in particular, was quite poor prior to World War II and was left quite war-ravaged by Nazi occupation. Then, the economy skyrocketed due to the U.S. investment-induced post-war industrial revolution.
This changed social structure from a mainly agricultural, communal culture where people would trade goods directly to what we now have in modern times — a culture where people work in offices and have the money to just buy bread at stores. The personal interaction is erased since the purchase is made not from the individual who made the bread, most likely it was made by a machine somewhere far away, but from an impersonal store shelf.
Stefano can remember a time when his neighbors would get together to make bread in large batches, each bringing ingredients and sharing in the finished product.  He spoke about it with nostalgia, clearly preferring old times where food was made with natural ingredients and an element of trust was still there, as opposed to now when chemicals replace certain ingredients and conglomerates make our food.
Yet, one of the last strongholds of this communal living still remains in Emilia Romagna. Â There are still some autonomous communities on a small scale where everyone in the community still interacts and depends on each other.
In the countryside towns dairy farmers sell fresh cheese to their neighbors, made organically with hormone-free cows. Artisans sell directly to the consumer down the road instead of through a middleman. Â Steeped in tradition, this humanizes food and other items needed for daily life and fosters relationships more easily.
Stefano brought all of this up to highlight the importance of walking to conduct daily life. Â The very trails we aimed to trek on that day are thousands of years old – some even pre-Christ. Â There are still traces of civilization from back then along the walking paths today.
It is no surprise to see people regularly waving and saying hello to each other in these small towns. There’s an element of openness and friendliness that is missing from large megatropolises like New York, for example, where people are more sealed off from interaction with each other.
Just being in this area and wandering these hills creates a feeling of going back several hundred years because everything is still on a smaller scale the way it used to be. There are no mega farms or conglomerates and there are literally thousands of walking paths that people still use today in the way that they have for countless generations.
I really felt transported back to those ancient times, traveling through hills where ancient life and modern times intersect.
The other fascinating aspect was the natural diversity and constantly changing microclimates, the same thing that had me so enamored with New Zealand. With so many trails there’s tons of variety. The big selling point for me, of course, is the lack of other tourists.  One could walk for days and not encounter another one.
Sadly, we didn’t get much opportunity to test them out given the heavy rains, but I still very much enjoyed being transported back in time.
Thanks to Stefano and Trekking Italy Emilia Romagna for hosting me via BlogVille Emilia Romagna. It was a day I won’t soon forget.Â
Mike (Nomadic Texan) says
I’ll take the wheel of cheese! Thanks for sharing this post!
Mike
Kristin says
I will too. Yum!
Renuka says
I loved reading it! I have a fascination for Italy and so, reading about its growth and changes over the ages is even more intriguing.
Kristin says
I have a fascination with Italy too now!
Alberto says
Hi everyone, I originally am from the region and now live in the dolmites Always in I taly. I can guarantee you it is exactly as written ifnot even more,,especially in the small villages..it is a jewel not yet discovered…then move North dirction Austria and stop in Trentino, target the val di fiemme area..it is a slice of paradise.
ciao
Alberto
martina says
Emilia Romagna is very lovely in fact I’m moving there, but I think you should check out even the south of Italy, especially Sicily ,it has some very beautiful and stunning places but it’s sadly unknown by many. If you don’t believe me just google “Agrigento temples” or “scala dei turchi”. They are treasure known by few
Martina
Kristin says
I agree! I want to see it all!
Serhat Engul says
Italy is such a nice country. I have been there twice but I realize how little I have seen so far. Each and every corner of it worth to see. I think I have great tips about my next visit. Thank you for giving great tips about off the beaten path in Italy.
Mahmoud says
Truely wonderful! How many days have you spent in Italy, and how much was the total cost? Thanks!
Kristin says
I’ve been back 4 times so now it’s been a total of about a month and a half. Cost depends on the region, with South Tyrol costing more than Bologna, for example. Italy is not a budget destination, though. You can save by camping or staying in hostels.