In this fertile land delimitated to the North by the river Po and to the South by the Apennine peaks, between the rivers Enza and Stirone, since time remote herds of pigs have been raised facilitated by the vast forestlands and the presence of oaks and, thus acorns. Pigs grazed in the vast woodland areas and the population of celtic origin which had settled there refined the ‘technology’ necessary to use and preserve pork meat. Yet again the characteristics of the land played a vital role.

Only here do the marine winds which are channelled through the Magra valley, dry and cleansed of their salt content thanks to the thick chestnut woods, arrive, today as yesterday, having crossed the high Apennines and descended to the soft hills and valleys which give onto the plain, permitting an exceptional maturing process, favouring the preservation of the salted pork products whether they be worked or conserved in pig bladder.

 

Only here are the spa towns of Lesignano and Salsomaggiore, where thermal salt rich in sulphur can be  taken directly from the thermal springs which guarantees, thanks to the fact that less is needed, an optimum preservation of the meat and also its ‘sweetness’.

 

Only here do the dense, damp fogs of the lowlands or ‘Bassa’ touched by the Po river, allow for the gentle maturing process of shoulders of ham (spalle) and culatte (a cut from the central part of the pig haunch) giving rise to authentic gastronomic masterpieces.

 

Only here has the art of cheese making connected with Parmigiano-Reggiano allowed for the pigs to be fed with the first rate left-overs of the process involved in transforming milk into the King of Cheese.

 

So, not by chance then can this territory offer such a rich choice of excellent cured meat products, from the raw Parma Ham or Prosciutto to the Culatello from Zibello, the Salame of Felino and the cooked shoulder of ham or Spalla Cotta from San Secondo; the panorama of gastronomy in Parma boasts these products, champions of quality and sweetness, of well balanced nutrition and flavour.

 

The Museum of the Prosciutto and cured Meats of Parma is dedicated to this inestimable patrimony, to the culture by which it has been generated, to its history and to the generations of people who have faithfully passed on its secrets.