To the Quadrilatero, the old market streets directly behind Piazza Maggiore. In the Bologna episode of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, season 1 episode 3, first shown on CNN on 28 February 2021, Tucci walks the market with Mattia Santori, a leader of the Sardines protest movement, and the two eat mortadella from Salumeria Simoni. Write-ups of the episode also place them at Osteria del Sole, the wine bar on Vicolo Ranocchi where you bring your own food.
That is most of his time in the city itself. Massimo Bottura takes him to Caseificio Rosola, a Parmigiano Reggiano dairy in the hills near Modena, and he visits Acetaia Giusti for balsamic vinegar. The same episode also travels to Parma, to Casa Artusi in Forlimpopoli and to Rimini.
The second season, in 2022, did not come back to Bologna. Simoni and Osteria del Sole are both a few minutes’ walk from the square, and our where to eat guide has their details.
There was one more stop inside the city. Tucci watches tortellini being made at Cucine Popolari, the food charity Roberto Morgantini started in 2014.
The two market stops are easy to repeat. Checked October 2026, with walking times from the middle of Piazza Maggiore measured on OpenStreetMap foot routing:
| Place | Address | Hours | Walk from the square |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salumeria Simoni | Via Drapperie 5/2a | Not published on its site | 281 m, about 4 min |
| Bottega Simoni | Via Pescherie Vecchie 7/c | Not published on its site | 261 m, about 3 min |
| Osteria del Sole | Vicolo dei Ranocchi 1/D | Monday to Saturday 11:00 to 21:30, Sunday 12:00 to 16:00 | 301 m, about 4 min |
Simoni lists three addresses in the Quadrilatero, the third being its workshop at Via Pescherie Vecchie 3/b. Osteria del Sole serves wine and beer only. Its own line is that the house supplies the wine and you supply the food, so buy mortadella, cheese and bread at a counter nearby and carry it in, the way Tucci and Santori did.
If you would rather have someone choose the counters for you, a food tour through the Quadrilatero does the same walk with tastings at each stop. Our Bologna food tour page compares the main ones, and the Quadrilatero page covers the market streets themselves.
Most of the episode is spent outside Bologna, across Emilia-Romagna. Write-ups of the episode list these stops:
Modena and Parma are both under an hour from Bologna on the fastest direct trains. Our day trips from Bologna guide has the times and fares.
Not on screen so far. Season 2 of Searching for Italy, in 2022, did not visit Emilia-Romagna. His later National Geographic series, Tucci in Italy, covered Tuscany, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Abruzzo and Lazio in its first season from May 2025, and Campania, Sicily, Le Marche, Sardinia and Veneto in its second in May 2026. Neither season came to Emilia-Romagna.
The mortadella he ate is the reason Americans have a lunch meat called bologna. Our page on why Americans call mortadella bologna explains how the two drifted apart.
Checked October 2026.
10 hours
A long, food-heavy day with pickup in Bologna that visits a Parmigiano dairy, a balsamic vinegar acetaia and a prosciutto maker before a big family-style lunch.
from$178
Check availability6.5 hours
A day trip to Parma to taste Parmigiano Reggiano, prosciutto and traditional balsamic at the places that make them.
from$205
Check availabilityPrices and ratings checked on GetYourGuide in October 2026 and can change. Booking through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.
Mortadella Bologna, the protected IGP version, is made only from pork. Cubes of hard fat from the pig's throat must make up at least 15% of the total, and salt and pepper are the base seasoning. Spices, herbs and pistachios are allowed but not required, which is why some slices are studded with green and others are not.
It is the one with the strongest claim. Its own site says the first documents mentioning an osteria on the spot date from 1465, and it is usually described as the oldest in the city. It still sells only wine and beer, no food and no soft drinks, so bring your own lunch from the delis around it.
Yes, on a guided day trip. Several tours leave from Bologna or meet in Parma and visit a Parmigiano dairy, a balsamic vinegar maker and a prosciutto producer in one day, with tastings and usually lunch. They are the closest you can get to the out-of-town half of Tucci's episode without hiring a car.
Directly behind Palazzo dei Banchi, the arcaded building on the east side of Piazza Maggiore. Walk through either of its two larger arches and you are in the market streets: Via Pescherie Vecchie, Via Drapperie, Via Clavature and Via Caprarie. The covered Mercato di Mezzo food hall on Via Clavature is about three minutes from the middle of the square.
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