Presented the book: Romagna, mosaic of life

A book written by several hands-among the authors, our director Daniele Cernilli-summarizes the unifying value elements of this slice of the region, including history, territories and wines.

After a journey by thematic groups tackled by the Vini di Romagna Consortium in the summer of 2020, which led to reflections on the value, identity, role and narrative of the PDO wines and territories of Romagna, a project has taken concrete shape that allows the Consortium to share the wealth of content that has emerged.

Thus was born "Romagna, mosaic of life" (Editrice Lariana/Civiltà del Bere), a book written by several hands that synthesizes the characteristic-unifying value elements of Romagna and captures identity aspects that differentiate territories and wines from each other. A book with a deliberately popular slant on Romagna and its wines, with a special in-depth section on the Sangioves of the Subzones, it has the ambition of becoming a text capable of accompanying the work of wineries from here to the coming years, forming the basis of that common narrative about our territory whose lack was the real Achilles heel of the regional narrative.

The book was presented on January 30 in Faenza in the presence of the authors, including writer and TV host Carlo Lucarelli, who signed the volume's preface, and well-known food and wine journalist Daniele Cernilli, editor of DoctorWine, who edited the entire technical and informative part devoted to the wines and subzones. Special mention for Marisa Fontana, who edited the in-depth study of typical Romagna grape varieties and was instrumental in stitching together the content by Andrea Padovani, Beppe Sangiorgi, Gian Gaspare Zuffa, Stefano Marabini, Carla Scotti, Giovanni Nigro, Ilaria Filippetti, Alessandro Torcoli and Elena Erlicher.

Featured are two cameos, the affectionate free tribute to Romagna by Gianni Morandi, a passionate admirer of our Sangiovese, and an interview with chef Max Mascia about the two-starred San Domenico restaurant in Imola, an icon of excellence that offers the region's excellent enology on a daily basis.

"You will find this book unusual compared to the books published by a Consortium, which are normally aimed at a specialist audience," emphasizes Ruenza Santandrea, president of the Vini di Romagna Consortium. "We wanted to appeal to all those who love wine and are curious to discover the history behind the wines, the territory from which they come, the soils, but we also wanted to tell you about the people, who are at the heart of what you find in the glass, taking up the history of our region, the traditions, the link with the gastronomy, the characters, the culture, the villages, the fortresses, because it was necessary to show a Romagna that goes beyond the sympathy, the ballroom dancing, the Riviera, the piadina and the Sangiovese. We wanted to open to the wonder for that Romagna you don't expect."

The book (226 pages, full of previously unpublished photos taken from the Consortium's archives and taken by Lido Vannucchi and Maurizio Magnani) holds together in synthesis and with rigor and pleasantness, even for non-specialist readers, the history, identity and tradition of Romagna with wine-making that has been consolidated over time and is now being renewed to better communicate to the world. The central section is devoted to sub-areas, with a geo-pedological excursus and the types of wines that precede it, identifying the characteristics of sub-area wines according to the soils that express them and their origin.

"Romagna," wrote journalist Guido Nozzoli, "is a land without borders, which is not recognized by its woods, mountains, rivers, or climate, but by its people and their habits. Not a geographical region, then, but a region of character, an island of feeling. A planet invented by its inhabitants." 

Romagna, mosaico di vita

Various authors, among which Carlo Lucarelli and Daniele Cernilli.
Photos by Lido Vannucchi e Maurizio Magnani

Editor: Lariana/Civiltà del Bere

Pages 226