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Italian Salami: their history
History
of salami: the origins. Initially, animals were reared exclusively to meet the requirements of the family or of the village. It was only in Etruscan times that the first forms of non-nomadic breeding had started to develop, along with a higher degree of specialization which was also aimed at trading. A significant testimony arrives from the archeological site of Forcello (V century B.C.), in the province of Mantua, where 50,000 pieces of animal bones, of which 60% from pigs, were found. Their study revealed that they belonged to pigs of approximately two or three years of age and that practically no bones of the rear legs were present. It was probably then that the concept of of charcuterie products was born. History of salami: the Roman times.
History of salami: The Ranaissance.
These professionals start organizing themselves into guilds or confraternities and they start taking on important roles within the society. Bologna saw the establishment of the Corporazione dei Salaroli (the Guild of Salters), Florence, at the Medici epoch, saw the rise of the Confraternita dei facchini di San Giovanni (the Confraternity of Saint John’s Servants) that was initially part of an association of pork butchers and then dedicated itself also to patronage and art. In 1615, Pope Paul V, recognized the Confraternity of Pork Butchers dedicated to the Saints Benedetto and Scolastica and, later, his successor Gregorius XV elevated it to Archconfraternity, which, in 1677, was joined also by the University of Norcia and Cascia Pork Butchers and Empirical Pork Physicians (types of sorcerers). Graduated, blessed and patented, norcinos increased their fame also outside the Papal State. Their activity, however, was seasonal in that pigs were slaughtered once a year and there were no techniques for fresh meat preservation. They used to leave their cities (Norcia, Cascia, Florence and Rome) at the beginning of October and return home towards the end of March, when they would recuperate their daily work selling hay or gardening tools. The fame of the norcino figure remained unchanged until the aftermath of the Second World War. History of salami: the modern times.
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History
of salami: the Middle Ages.
Between the 12th and the 17th centuries, Italy sees a strong development of the jobs linked to the processing of pork. This is the period when the figure of the norcino (pork butcher from Norcia) appears and thanks to his skills, he creates new charcuterie products.