Comitato Interpaese Meeting 2022

The CIP Meeting is a fellowship meeting between Italian, Swiss, Maltese Rotarians and spouses and

there were no participants from Liechtenstein this year The meeting was held in Modena Italy,

between the 22 nd and 25 th September 2022.

This year we were eight Rotarians from RC Malta and RC La Valette and three spouses/guests and

were led by AnneMarie Bianchi who is our newly elected Delegate for Malta.

We arrived at Modena at lunch time and the President of the Organizing Committee welcomed us

on our arrival and joined us for a typical Modenese meal. A good start for what was yet to come.

We were then allowed some free time before the meeting commenced, to be welcomed by some of

the presidents of the area in the evening. This was followed by a welcome dinner for all the

participants.

Friday was a specially good day since we were taken to a prominent Parmigiano Reggiano factory.

There we were able to view the process of making parmigiano reggiano cheese, and to view the

finished product which is stored in large warehouses for it to be sold to the highest bidders on the

Parmigiano stock market. We were also able to have a few cheese nibbles on the way.

Our next visit was to a prominent balsamico vinegar producer, Mario & Giorgio Gambigliani Zoccoli

who are both Rotarians. We listened to the method to produce traditional balsamico vinegar and we

were able to purchase over 12 and 25-year-old balsamico vinegar sold in an ornate bottles to

distinguish that it was produced in the Reggio Emilia Balsamico producing region in the traditional

way.

We were then hosted on site to a typical Modenese meal with lots of balsamico vinegar to

supplement the delicious meal. Of course, Lambrusco wines were served to our great delight.

After lunch we were driven to a private museum for quality hams of all kinds and besides being

informed of the preparation procedure, we were invited to taste a large selection of the hams,

salami and mortadella, all of the top grade quality. The only problem we had was that there was

little room for us to consume this extra delicacy since we were just coming from a lunch meal.

It was then a quick return to the hotel to get ready to visit the Luciano Pavarotti house/museum

where he spent the last few years of his life. There were many paintings, pictures, trophies, musical

souvenirs and costumes he wore in his musical career. Dinner was served in the restaurant in the

annex of the museum. Again, a typical Modenese meal served with Lambrusco wines. We were

entertained by two musicians/opera singers who presented us with a repertoire of Pavarotti

opera/song music.

Saturday morning was the speakers’ morning with our group loyally represented by AnneMarie

Bianchi, Robert Ghirlando and Teresa Andrade. The rest of us went on a guided tour of the city

centre.

Lunch followed and again a great Modenese cuisine meal was served. We were then taken to the

Ferrari Museum at Maranello. For car enthusiasts this was a great feast. Never have we seen so

many expensive and fast cars inclusive of formula one cars in one place.

The gala dinner was held at the Palazzo Ducale, a Baroque Palace in Modena, which today houses

the Italian Military Academy. The dining room was all ornate with beautiful paintings and was very

grandeur looking. The Rotary governor of the Modena District together with the Commanding

Officer of the Palazzo and the Mayor of Modena with their ladies were the guests of honour.

Sunday morning was the end of the weekend when we attended mass in the cathedral followed by

the farewell lunch during which participants bid farewell and hoped to meet again possibly at next

year’s CIP Meeting.

Rob von Brockdorff