Which food business can boast the title of being the oldest delicatessen in Europe? A bizarre question, to which only a few would be able to answer, and they would probably be mostly from Modena.
An unmissable stop for anyone who passes through Modena even for just a few hours is, in fact, the Salumeria Giusti: founded as far back as 1598, today it is located in Via Farini, a few steps from the monumental Palazzo Ducale, in the historic center of the city.
A curious coincidence is that, in the same year of its opening, Modena was chosen as the capital of the Este dukedom by Duke Cesare d’Este, forced to abandon Ferrara upon imposition by the Church. It was in this way that the delicatessen began to supply great historical figures, from the ducal family to Gioacchino Rossini, who wrote from Paris to order Giusti’s products.

When I have special guests and I want them to taste products of excellence typical of Emilia, I bring them here. I remember a memorable luncheon with the deputy director of the Frick Collection in New York, Xavier Salomon, Carlo Orsi, the Marquise Rangoni Machiavelli, the then Superintendent Stefano Casciu and the current Senior Curator of the Paul Getty Museum, Davide Gasparotto.
It gives me great pride, every time, to see my guests leaving the Gallery, crossing the street and entering in amazement into an extraordinary environment rich in Emilian history and tradition.
Along Via Farini, art takes on different, but equally refined forms, which give our province greater scope and impetus.