A Night in Bologna
After the first day of the book fair, we drove 15 minutes to the Amelia Hotel parking lot, just a ten-minute walk from Bologna’s old town. We chose this spot partly because the hotel’s name matched our company VP’s name—Amelia. Playfully, the whole team gathered around the hotel sign to snap a photo and sent it via WhatsApp to Amelia, who was on a business trip in Florida, with the message: “Though you missed this year, we’ll make sure you don’t miss out.”
While I was daydreaming, my colleagues squeezed into the car to change into more comfortable shoes. Together, we walked through the old town, happily heading to dinner. Crossing a tiny traffic light intersection, we arrived at Porta San Vitale, one of Bologna’s ancient city gates built in the 13th century and remarkably well preserved. You can still see arrow marks on the walls, remnants of battles long past. We walked along a stone-paved street, up and down steps flanked by art galleries, cozy cafés, artisanal gelato shops, antique furniture stores, and tiny convenience shops. Overhead, high arcades stretch out. Each time, I marvel at how Bologna’s old town is one of Italy’s best-preserved medieval centers, spanning over two millennia. From the Etruscans and the Roman Empire to the medieval university city, it is both ancient and vibrant.
The city boasts 40 kilometers of porticoes, 12 historic gates, over 20 medieval towers, the twin towers born of noble family rivalries, the Basilica of San Petronio, the old town square, and one of the world’s oldest universities: the University of Bologna. As night falls, all these monuments come alive. In the narrow streets, food, history, art, literature, flowers, and laughter flow like fresh lifeblood, reawakening the city’s heart.
Tonight’s meal would be the pinnacle of Bologna’s cuisine—worthy of endless praise for its ingredients and chefs alike. But the family joining us made the evening even more special. After just a few words and a warm embrace, the mood turned cozy and joyful. As the saying goes, there’s always plenty to talk about when you meet old friends far from home. The food was just the medium; who you share it with matters most.
At traditional local restaurants, bread served before the meal is part of Italian dining culture. Alongside it come olive oil and vinegar. Bologna sits at the heart of Italy’s finest balsamic vinegar production. Many restaurants offer family-made vinegar aged anywhere from 12 to 25, or even up to 100 years. This vinegar is made purely from concentrated grape juice, slowly cooked and aged in barrels made from a mix of woods—oak, cherry, chestnut, mulberry, and more—with no additives. The older the vinegar, the richer and more complex its aroma. Tonight’s vinegar was thick, sweet-sour, with a lingering sweetness. We praised the restaurant’s quality and eagerly awaited the main courses.
Just as I was setting my phone aside to focus on dinner, an email popped up on my screen. It was from the CEO of a Turkish tech company I’d met earlier that day. Curious, I excused myself from the lively conversation to change into a skirt and check the message. He expressed happiness about the progress made in our meeting and outlined the next steps for cooperation. Reading his detailed email, I reflected quietly. During the day, he had shown me their latest tech and copyright agreements. He told me his goal at this exhibition was to close deals with seven international publishers—and he even named six others. “Wow, that’s ambitious,” I joked. He replied seriously, “I only work with the best publishers. The technology is valuable; I protect it carefully.” I asked if those publishers had recommended him to me. He said yes, but that his decision to work with me went beyond their endorsements. Then he opened his laptop and showed me a list with hundreds of titles from Read With You Publishing. Each book was marked with possible technical enhancements and reasons to adapt it. I was stunned. How many hours, how many teams must have worked to compile this data and analyze the possibilities? I gently slid my hand across his laptop screen, deeply impressed by his thoroughness. I immediately consulted Steve and we agreed to move forward with a partnership. Little did I know the day wasn’t over—while I was enjoying the celebration, he was still working, meticulously scheduling every next step and requirement.
Composing myself, I changed into comfortable business attire and returned to the table. After steak and seafood, the group asked the restaurant to break the Italian custom of serving dishes sequentially. Suddenly, plates of all kinds appeared at once. The petite local specialty Tortellini are little meat-filled dumplings cooked in broth. Larger Tortelloni are filled with cheese and vegetables, served with butter or tomato sauce. Square Ravioli, stuffed with solid cheese, were the best of all. Taking a bite of ravioli, one word came to mind: substance. That’s why the Turkish CEO impressed us—he was well-prepared, both in technology and attitude. Like these exquisite dishes, even the vinegar on the table was aged more than 25 years. Having substance is an attitude.
After bidding farewell to our friends, we wandered back through the old town to the car. Late at night, driving away from Bologna toward our lodging town, the lights dimmed. The car sped along country roads under a velvet-blue sky studded with stars. That night, the dumplings had substance, the emails had substance, even the sky was richly filled.
博洛尼亚饕餮之有料的一夜
第一天的书展工作结束，我们驱车15分钟，来到距离博洛尼亚老城步行十分钟的Amelia Hotel停车场。选在这里停车，是因为酒店的名字和公司VP的名字一样，我们全体调皮地围着酒店招牌拍了张照片，在WhatsApp群里传给远在佛罗里达州出差的Amelia，附言：虽然今年你缺席了，但是我们总有办法帮你补上。
我发呆时，同事们挤在车里换舒服的鞋子，我们一起步行穿越老城区，开心去赴宴。走过一个很小的红绿灯路口，便是博洛尼亚古城门Porta San Vitale，始建于13世纪，至今结构保存良好，墙壁上还能看到当年征战留下的箭头。踏上一条石板铺就的长路，走着高高低低的台阶，两旁是艺术画廊，小咖啡店，冰激凌手工小作坊，还有中古家具陈设和迷你便利店，头顶是高高的拱廊，每一次都感慨，博洛尼亚的老城是意大利保存最完好的中世纪城市中心之一，跨越了两千多年，从伊特鲁里亚人、罗马帝国到中世纪大学之城，既古老又充满活力。全城汇集了延绵40公里的拱廊，12座城门，20多座中世纪的塔楼，中世纪家族争斗的双塔，圣白托略大教堂，老市政广场，世界上最古老的大学之一博洛尼亚大学。夜幕之下，全部古迹又都鲜活起来，在狭长的街巷里，美食，历史，艺术，文学，鲜花，人们的笑声，宛如汩汩流淌的新鲜血液，重新激活了老城。
我们今天要吃的，是博洛尼亚美食的顶配餐厅，从食材到厨师，都可以夸上三天三夜。而今天要和我们一起吃饭的一家人也是尤为特别的，见面短短几句寒暄，一个拥抱，就把气氛推向了温暖的高潮。所谓他乡遇故知，自有聊不完的话题。食物，只是介质，和谁吃才是重要的。
在当地传统餐厅吃饭，上菜前免费提供的面包是意式餐桌文化的一部分，同时提供的还有橄榄油和醋。博洛尼亚处在世界顶级意大利香醋的核心产区。很多餐厅都提供这种家族醋坊的酿造，这种陈酿最短12年，最长可达25-100年，整个制作工艺里毫无添加，仅使用100%葡萄汁慢火煮浓，再放入有木材（橡木、樱桃木、栗木、桑树等）组合制成的木桶里陈酿。越老的醋，香气越复杂，今天的醋，质地浓稠，酸中带甜，入口回甘。我们称赞着餐厅的品质，期待着正餐的到来。
在我准备专心吃饭，放好手机时，一封邮件，嗖地一声来到了屏幕上。来信的人，是白天和我约见的一位土耳其技术公司的CEO，我有些好奇，就趁着大家聊的热络，失礼起身，去更衣室换裙装顺便看看这封信。信里他对今天会议上所取得的进展表示开心。同时列出了下一步合作的细节。我读着他洋洋洒洒的一封信，若有所思。白天见面，他向我展示了他们研发的最新技术和版权交易的协议。并告诉我，这次展览，他意在谈成七家国际化的出版社，还报出了另外六家的名字。哇，这不是前六吗，你胃口好大啊。我笑着说。他很严肃地回复，我只和最好的出版社合作，技术珍贵，我爱惜羽毛。你这么说，不是恭维我吧，是他们几家向你推荐了我吗？我又问。的确他们都有提到你，但是我下决心和你合作，不只是因为他们的推荐，说着，他又打开了笔记本，向我展示了一份清单，里面包含几百个Read With You Publishing的书名，并且每一本书后面都写明了技术制作的可能性，和选择加工该书的理由。我一下就看呆了，这需要花多少时间，动用几个团队，才可以从我们的网站上找到这些预览文件呢？又需要花多少时间来分析技术赋能的可能性，才能拿出这样的清单呢？我用手轻轻滑过他的笔记本屏幕，对认真充满敬意！于是我当即和Steve交换了意见，与他达成合作意向。可是我没想到，这一天还有过完，在我高歌宴饮的时刻，他还在工作，而且事无巨细地列出了下一步的时间点和需求。
收拾好我的震惊，我换上了一套舒适的商务便装重新回到座位。牛排和海鲜之后，大家请餐厅打破了意大利菜吃完才能上下一道菜的方式，瞬间餐桌上铺满了各式菜肴。小巧的本地主食Torellini，是带着肉馅煮在肉汤里的小饺子。Tortelloni比tortellini大，用奶酪和蔬菜做馅料，佐以黄油或番茄酱。方形的Ravioli（拉维奥利）最好吃，馅料里满是扎实的奶酪。咬下一口Raviloli的瞬间，我忽然想到了两个字：有料。土耳其公司的CEO为什么能打动我们，因为他有备而来，从技术到态度，都很有料。就像眼前这些精美的菜肴，哪怕是一瓶佐味的香醋，也是25年以上的陈酿。有料，是一种态度哦。
和朋友一家道别，重新穿行老城回到车上。夜深了，我们开着车一路离开博洛尼亚回到我们住的镇子。灯光逐渐弱了下来，车子奔驰于田野间的小路，蓝丝绒般天空上缀满闪亮的星星。这一晚，饺子有料，邮件有料，连天空也皮包馅大。
