I'm standing at a large wooden barrel in front of a rustic outdoor bar with a huge platter of cured meat and cheese balanced on top of it. As slice after slice of the finest Parma ham melts like butter in my mouth, I’m enveloped by the buzz coming from so many others doing the same thing under the welcoming heaters.

After cleansing the intense flavour of a chunk of 26-monthaged Parmesan with a swig of red wine, a lovely Sangiovese, I savour the relaxed vibe of diners eating alfresco, as is the norm in Italy. Italians are famed for their love of food and fast cars, and none more so than in the Emilia-Romagna region here in the north of the country.