In his 1624 poem La Secchia Rapita (The Stolen Bucket), Modenese poet Alessandro Tassoni writes that during a 1325 battle, Venus, Bacchus, and Mars stopped at a (still-operating) inn in Castelfranco Emilia La Corona. The Bolognese innkeeper was so enraptured with the nude goddess that he tried to replicate her naval in the form of a meat-filled egg pasta known today as the tortellini of Castelfranco Emilia. 

This tale has been passed down by generations of rezdôre, the Emilia term for the women who roll out the dough manually. The men, on the other hand, handle the filling. We met some of them at La San Nicola, a voluntary association headquartered in Malvasia Castle in the nearby town of Panzano, and others at Il Tortellante, an association for autistic children – chef Massimo Bottura is involved in both of these institutions.