Gino's Italian Escape

Express: Bologna to Verona (7x4)

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This week Gino is starting his journey in Italy’s food capital - Bologna. Before jumping on the train he picks up a snack for his journey, a Bolgnese classic and a childhood favourite for Gino - panino with mortadella. His train journey takes him north towards Mantova, Italy's rice growing region, where he helps out in the rice paddies before cooking at one of the oldest rice festivals in Italy. Here, the rice masters prepare over 30,000 portions of rice, and Gino’s making his own dessert version, chocolate rice pudding. Jumping back on the train, he then heads to Verona, the city of love, opera and all things artistic. Famed for being the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, Verona is also home to one of the oldest art schools in Italy. Gino meets with a group of students and stands in as the model for their life drawing class, before cooking up meatballs in a tangy tomato sauce for the class.