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Speck was created hundreds of years ago through the symbiosis of two methods for preserving meat: curing, which was widespread in the Mediterranean area, and smoking, typical of northern Europe. As such, Alto Adige, a land that merges the two cultures, gave rise to a speciality with an unmistakable production process and taste, made according to th...

849

Pecorino is an exquisite product with a long tradition. Ancient testimonies still exist that praise its qualities: in older times it was called “Marzolino” and in 1475 the humanist Bartolomeo Platina acclaimed it as the best cheese in Italy. In 1832, Ignazio Malenotti, a member of the Linnean Society of Paris, published the “Shepherd’s Handbook” in...

1135

Horace, the great Latin poet of the 1st century BC, while travelling to Brindisi, described the bread of Altamura as “the best by far” and so appetising that “wise travellers carry a load on their shoulders for later”: i.e. a bread for export. The discovery of Pane di Altamura by the Romans, accustomed to stodgy, indigestible barley bread, soon ele...

1685

The Riviera Ligure Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) Extra Virgin Olive Oil production area extends across the entire territory of Liguria. Olive cultivation rises from the coastal area up to accessible heights. After the fall of the Roman Empire, olive growing continued alongside the cultivation of other crops. Liguria provided an ideal climat...

1044

San Daniele is the name of a place that is home to a sensational product that shares all its features: it is Friuli’s crowning achievement. Connected to a very old production method that has remained unchanged over the centuries, Prosciutto from San Daniele is a highly prized product. San Daniele Prosciutto DOP is made by curing fresh legs of Itali...

1402

Quartirolo Lombardo has been part of the history of Lombardy since the 10th century. At that time, the Lombard herdsmen returning to the cattle sheds on the plain, after spending the summer in mountain pastures, used to graze their cows on the fresh grass that grew after the third cutting, known as “quartirola” grass. It is this last grass before w...

1411

The first tomato cultivated in the district of Pachino (50 km south of Syracuse, in the extreme southern tip of Sicily) date from about 1925 on farms with irrigation from groundwater wells. It was noted, even at that time, that tomatoes cultivated in this area had very different characteristics from other tomatoes. First of all, they went into prod...

2310

Citrus cultivation developed in the Ribera valleys at the beginning of the nineteenth century, but it was only in 1930 that it reached truly high standards of quality. This was when the cultivation of the Brasiliano and Washington navel varieties began, which gradually replaced the old acidic varieties with lots of seeds.  This specialization conti...

1434

The earliest literary evidence of the production of Bresaola della Valtellina dates back to the 15th century, but the origin of this typical salami certainly pre-dates that. It is linked to the ancient tradition, common throughout the Alps, of preserving meat by salting and drying. However, the cool, dry and well-ventilated climate of Valtellina al...

1157

Its precise origins are unclear, but salami making has certainly been closely associated with the presence of numerous pig farms in the Po Valley since Roman times. Pig farming and the marketing of pork products acquired a central role in the rural economy and the daily life of the local communities at that time, a fact testified by numerous codex...

1788