Italian cruising and cuisine: NONFICTION: Minneapolis writer and teacher Eric Dregni writes about his two years in Italy, with pasta, Ferraris and mozzarella.

Special to the Star Tribune

I expected to learn from this book far more about farfelle than Ferrari, but Italy is noise and lust and gusto, and not always about food.

Eric Dregni, a Minnesota professor, lived for two years in Modena with his sweetheart, teaching English to Italians and producing what reads like a journal of his adventures -- unpolished, but earnest and excited.

He chose the northern town for its culinary reputation: "Pavarotti was born and fed here on a steady diet of prosciutto crudo, tortellini, Parmigiano-Reggiano and balsamic vinegar. This is why Modena is the place for me."

He and Katy, patient and sweet, live in a former convent chapel, above a coffee bar, on a street just 15 feet wide and 80 feet long.

But, food is only food, and once he introduces us to a friend's mama's fresh mozzarella (which must be eaten today), and a salami factory (where mold...