Cured Meat Region(s) Meat(s) Characteristics
Baldonazzi Trentino-
Alto Adige Pork Sweet-and-sour blood sausage featuring chestnut flour, walnuts, raisins, lard, and nutmeg.
Bale d'Aso Piedmont Pork Delicate boiling sausage.
Biroldo or Buristo or Sanguinaccio Tuscany Pork Sweet blood pudding with pine nuts, spices, and (sometimes) raisins.
Bisecon Piedmont Pork A cross between head cheese and sausage.
Bocconcini di Daino Umbria Buck Mildly gamy tiny sausages.
Bondiola The Veneto Pork Sausages best boiled slowly.
Bondiola Affumicata The Veneto Pork Smoked sausage.
Bondiola d'Adria The Veneto Pork and veal Pork and veal sausage with red wine, aged at least 4 months.
Bondiola di Treviso The Veneto Pork Both lean and fatty parts of the pig, including the rind and head, as well as a piece of salted tongue, are used to make this sausage.
Boudin Val d'Aosta Pork A blood sausage flavored with mashed potatoes or boiled beets, lard, and spices; boiled, then sliced and baked with potatoes and butter.
Bresaola Lombardy Beef or horse Made in the Valtellina from prized cuts of beef (or, more rarely, horse) which are salted and spiced, then hung to dry; sometimes smoked.
Bresaola dell'Ossola Piedmont Veal Bresaola flavored with white wine, cinnamon, cloves, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, and sugar.
Bresaola di Cervo Friuli-
Venezia Giulia Venison Intensely red Bresaola, firm and slightly sweet.
Budellaccio di Norcia Umbria Pork Sausage flavored with salt, pepper, and fennel seeds, dried by the hearth and grilled.
Cacciatori or Bastardelli Lombardy Pork and beef Salami made from pork and Bresaola trimmings.
Cacciatorino Piedmont Pork The Little Hunter's Sausage; small salami created for hunters who needed a quick energy fix on the hunt.
Capocollo Basilicata/Apulia/
Umbria/Calabria Pork Pork shoulder and neck stuffed into pork bladder, amply spiced; sometimes smoked or conserved in olive oil or flavored with cooked wine.
Cappello da Prete Emilia-Romagna Pork Pork forcemeat enclosed in pork rind, boiled before serving.
Carne di Melezet Piedmont Veal Salted chunks of meat; conserved for months in a savory brine.
Carne Salada Trentino-
Alto Adige Beef "Salted Meat," made by marinating beef in a salt brine with pepper, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, juniper berries, and white wine for 20 days.
Cervellata Calabrese Calabria Pork Sausage flavored with white wine and chili.
Cervellata Pugliese Apulia Pork with the possible addition of veal Sausage made of pork, or pork and veal; flavored with cooked wine and fennel seeds, often grilled.
Cervellatina Campania Pork Salami made from lean and fat meat, cut with a knife and spiced with chili.
Ciauscolo or Ciavuscolo Umbria/
The Marches Pork A soft, spreadable pâté-like smoked pork sausage, often spiked with garlic and vino cotto.
Coiga Trentino-
Alto Adige Pork Smoked sausage featuring the lowly but economical turnip.
Coppa Emilia-Romagna Pork A specialty of Piacenza, made from the top part of the pig's neck, which is dry-salted, spiced, stuffed into casings, air-dried, and aged for 6 months.
Coppa di Ascoli Piceno The Marches Pork Boiled salami made from humble parts of the pig, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, studded with pistachios.
Coppa Umbra Umbria Pork A head cheese flavored with orange zest.
Coppiette Tuscany Boar or beef Dried salami-like bars of wild boar or beef from the Maremma.
Coppiette Ciociare Latium Pork Initially made of horse and now of pork, these strips of spiced and seasoned meat are sold coupled, hanging from a string.
Corallina di Norcia Umbria Pork A salami of finely ground pork mixed with cubes of pork fat, scented with garlic, sometimes smoked over juniper wood and aged up to 5 months.
Cotechino Lombardy/
Emilia-Romagna Pork Cremona's famous pork sausage, typically boiled and served with lentils to ring in the New Year; artisanal producers still flavor the forcemeat with vanilla. This rich sausage needs to be slowly simmered for hours.
Cotechino di San Leo The Marches Pork Made according to a secret recipe, this thick boiled sausage is generously seasoned with cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper.
Cotecotto Lombardy Beef and pork Sausage from the Valtellina;, best poached in the water used for boiling chestnuts.
Culatello di Zibello Emilia-Romagna Pork Made from the most prized portion of the ham, the "heart of Prosciutto," pear-shaped Culatello is rubbed with wine and pepper, aged in well-ventilated rooms for 10 months to 1 year, and delicate in flavor.
Fegato Dolce Abruzzo Pork Pork liver in casings; flavored with honey.
Fegato Pazzo Abruzzo Pork Pork liver in casings; flavored with chili.
Fiaschetta Aquilana Abruzzo Pork Smoked salami.
Filetto Baciato Piedmont Pork "The Kissed Filet," a soft salami wrapped around a cured pork filet.
Finocchiona Tuscany Pork An imposing salami spiced with wild fennel seeds (finocchio selvatico in Italian), aged 6 months to 1 year.
Fiocco di Daino Umbria Buck Intensely red and mildly gamy cured buck tenderloins.
Guanciale Latium Pork The meat from the cheek and throat of a pig is salted, rubbed with pepper, and aged; less fatty than Pancetta, which is made from the belly of a pig, it is cooked in pasta sauces, with vegetables, and more.
Kaminwürz Trentino-
Alto Adige Beef and pork Sausage slowly smoked over the fireplace in homes.
Lardo Trentino-
Alto Adige Pork Smoked, salted, or spiced lard, eaten as an antipasto.
Lardo di Cavour Piedmont Pork Subtle lard, especially delicious when perfumed with rosemary.
Lardo di Colonnata Tuscany Pork Lard aged near marble quarries in the town of Colonnata, placed in a salt brine in marble tubs after being rubbed with spices. Eaten raw on bread and focaccia.
Lardo di Saint Arnad Val d'Aosta Pork A creamy, pearl-colored lard from the town of Saint Arnad; best eaten thinly sliced with whole wheat bread slathered with mountain honey.
Lonza Abruzzo Pork Sausage from the shoulder and neck of the pig; spiced, salted, and hung to dry, aged for a minimum of 2 months. Called Capocollo elsewhere.
Lucanica Basilicata Pork Sausage praised by Cicero and Martial in the days of ancient Rome, flavored with sweet and spicy pepper, fennel seeds, and black pepper; eaten grilled or roasted, or raw if smoked.
Luganega The Veneto Pork with the possible addition of chicken livers Treviso's famed pork sausage, whose recipe was codified in 1300. Some is made with pounded Pancetta and a mixture of pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, mace, and coriander; another is enriched with chicken livers.
Luganiga Lombardy Pork Monza's vanilla-laced sausage.
Marcundela Friuli-
Venezia Giulia Pork Sausage made from the innards, spleen, and fat of the pig; sliced and fried in butter, it is served alongside pasta or frittatas.
Marzapane Piedmont Pork Oddly named garlic- and wine-laced blood sausage made near Novara.
Mazzafegato Umbria/
The Marches Pork Liver sausage; flavored with orange zest, pine nuts, raisins, and sugar when sweet. A must on Carnevale tables.
Mocetta or Motzetta Val d'Aosta Goat, chamois, or beef Salted and aged boneless leg of goat, chamois, or beef; it was once made with wild mountain goats, but they have become a protected species. Similar to Bresaola.
Mortadella di Bologna Emilia-Romagna Pork The real "baloney, whose recipe was developed during the Middle Ages. The real Bolognese version calls only for pork; pistachios, garlic, or truffles are sometimes added for flavor.
Mortadella di Campotosto Abruzzo Pork Finely ground sausage threaded with a wide strip of lard; also called Coglioni di Mulo ("Mule's Balls").
Mortadella di Fegato Lombardy Pork Fatty sausage featuring liver.
Mortadella di Fegato or Mortadella d'Orta or Fidighin Piedmont Pork and beef Sausage featuring pork liver, beef or pork, and white wine or reduced Barbera wine; smoked or unsmoked, meant for boiling.
Mortadella Nostrale Tuscany Pork Sausage spiced with black pepper; aged a little over 1 month.
Mortadella Umbra Umbria Pork From the Val di Nera; like the Mortadella of Abruzzo, it is threaded with a single large strip of lard.
Mortadellina Amatriciana Latium Pork Sausages of finely ground pork threaded with a thick strip of lard; smoked and aged up to 3 months.
Mortandela Trentino-
Alto Adige Pork Minced pork sausage that finds its most elaborate expression in Val di Sole, where it is sprinkled with cornmeal, pressed, and smoked over beechwood and aromatic herbs.
Mostardella Liguria Pork Savory salami best eaten in thick slices; good grilled.
Mulette Molise Pork Molise's version of Capocollo or Coppa, spiced with chili rather than black pepper.
Musetto Friuli-
Venezia Giulia Pork Sausage reminiscent of Cotechino, made from lean and fatty pork meat and usually boiled and eaten with brovade.
'Nduja Calabria Pork Pork meat, lard, liver, and lights are ground together and stuffed into pig's bowels, then spiced with chili and aged up to 1 year; eaten as an antipasto, spread on bread, and incorporated in pasta sauces.
Pampanella di San Martino Molise Pork Small pork chops coated with a chili pepper and garlic paste, roasted, then rubbed with salt and vinegar.
Pancetta or Rigatino Across Italy Pork Fatty meat from the pig's belly, shaped in rectangles or coiled. Essentially it is unsmoked bacon; it is served raw as an antipasto or cooked in numerous dishes.
Pettucce Friuli-
Venezia Giulia Pork Meatballs from the Alta Carnia, macerated with juniper and other mountain herbs, rolled in cornmeal, smoked, and aged.
Porchetta di Ariccia Latium Pork Spit-roasted pork flavored with garlic, pepper, and wild fennel.
Probusto Trentino-
Alto Adige Pork and veal The Italian version of Germany's Frankfurterwürstel, a pork and veal sausage that is stuffed into a mutton casing and smoked over birchwood.
Prosciutto Affumicato Molise Pork Smoked hams rubbed with wine and chili.
Prosciutto Berico-Euganeo The Veneto Pork Pig thighs are salted, pressed lightly, and aged to yield a slightly compact ham.
Prosciutto Cotto Lombardy Pork Baked ham; large thighs are deboned, then cured in a salt brine, massaged, baked, and marketed without curing.
Prosciutto Cotto nel Pane Friuli-
Venezia Giulia Pork Gorizia's ham is wrapped in bread dough and baked until the crust is golden and crisp, then eaten warm or hot, with grated horseradish at Easter.
Prosciutto di Bardotto Tuscany Pork Made from the thigh of a "hybrid" pig (born from the union of a sow and a wild boar); the meat is as flavorful as its father's, and as moist as its mother's, yielding especially succulent hams.
Prosciutto di Basciano Abruzzo Pork Ham that benefits from the fresh mountain breeze of the Gran Sasso; flavored with chili and aged 1 year.
Prosciutto di Bassiano Latium Pork Ham rubbed with a mixture of white wine, garlic, and pepper, aged at least 1 year.
Prosciutto di Bosses Val d'Aosta Pork A ham produced in a small village by the same name on an artisanal level.
Prosciutto di Carpegna The Marches Pork Ham made in the town of Carpegna since the days of ancient Rome; deep pink, with a delicate, sweet flavor, it is salted and aged 14 months.
Prosciutto di Cinghiale Latium/
Tuscany Wild boar An intensely flavorful ham made usually sold with the bristle still on and the hoof still intact.
Prosciutto di Daino Umbria Buck Ham made from buck thighs.
Prosciutto di Guarcino Latium Pork Hams flavored with red wine, lard, chili, and spices; aged up to 16 months.
Prosciutto di Modena Emilia-Romagna Pork Aged near Modena, this pear-shaped ham is salted twice, allowed to rest with its salt rub for 2 months, then rinsed, dried, and aged for 1 year; it has a subtle, barely salty flavor.
Prosciutto di Montefalcone Campania Pork Smoked, chili-laced ham from a mountain village in Alto Sannio.
Prosciutto di Norcia Umbria Pork The most characteristic Umbrian cured meat; large pear-shaped ham, rosy or red, slightly spicy, subjected to a salt cure for 2 to 5 months and then aged a minimum of 1 year.
Prosciutto di Ossola Piedmont Pork Salted ham flavored with aromatic herbs.
Prosciutto di Parma Emilia-Romagna Pork This ham is the ultimate symbol of its region's gastronomy. Round in shape, it is salty yet delicately sweet and aged from 10 to 12 months.
Prosciutto di San Daniele Friuli-
Venezia Giulia Pork The rosy and sweet ham of San Daniele is aged from 15 to 18 months; it is sweeter than the ham from Parma, and is easily recognizable since it is worked with the hoof still attached.
Prosciutto di Sauris Friuli-
Venezia Giulia Pork Smoked ham from the village of Sauris in the Alta Carnia, produced at an altitude of 4,000 feet; aged from 12 to 18 months.
Prosciutto di Val Vigezzo Piedmont Pork Ham aged 40 days, smoked over juniper wood.
Prosciutto Lucano Basilicata Pork Ham made from small pigs raised in the mountains; cured artisanally, spiced with chili, and aged 15 months.
Prosciutto Romano Latium Pork Ham from the province of Rome.
Prosciutto Toscano Tuscany Pork Tuscan ham, smaller and saltier than that from Parma and San Daniele; best cut by hand with a sharp knife.
Rindgeselchtes Trentino-
Alto Adige Beef Smoked beef, most often served thinly sliced as an antipasto or as part of a Bollito Misto.
Salama da Sugo Emilia-Romagna Pork A specialty of Ferrara made with pork meat, tongue, head, liver, cloves, cinnamon, red wine, and brandy, Marsala, or rum; it becomes almost creamy and releases a rich ragù-like sauce when pierced as it cooks.
Salame Brianzolo Lombardy Pork Spiced pork salami.
Salame d'Asino Piedmont Donkey Donkey meat salami.
Salame del Montefeltro The Marches Pork Salami made from the meat of black pigs, spiced with whole black peppercorns.
Salame della Duja Piedmont Pork Salami named after the glass vase in which the it is layered with pork fat to protect it from humidity and to age.
Salame di Cinghiale Umbria Wild boar Salami made from the wild boars that roam Umbria's woods.
Salame di Cremona Lombardy Pork Salami made from prized cuts of pork, belly fat, salt, crushed garlic, and red wine; aged 6 months.
Salame di Daino Umbria Buck Subtly gamy buck salami.
Salame di Fabriano The Marches Pork Salami featuring knife-cut (rather than ground) pork; aged from 2 to 5 months.
Salame di Felino Emilia-Romagna Pork This salami features top-quality ground pork, Pancetta, ground black pepper, and white peppercorns; as it ages for 3 months, it becomes covered with its characteristic white mold.
Salame di Mantova Lombardy Pork Salami made from coarsely ground or knife-cut pork shoulder and belly mixed with trimmings from Prosciutto-making and white wine; aged 3 months and perfect for the grill.
Salame di Pecora Abruzzo Sheep Rare salami from Anversa degli Abruzzi; sweet and delicate.
Salame di Rape Lombardy Pork Salami that includes pork fat, cooked cabbage, and turnips; a specialty of Livigno, where the altitude forbids anything but turnip cultivation.
Salame di Sant'Olcese Liguria Pork and beef Subtle salami flavored with black pepper and garlic.
Salame di Varzi Lombardy Pork Garlic-scented salami.
Salame d'Oca Lombardy Goose Goose salami from Mortara, for eating raw or poaching.
Salame Genovese Liguria Pork and beef Salami made from coarsely ground meat; spiked with white wine.
Salame Milano Lombardy Pork Pork salami laced with cheese and saffron; aged 3 months.
Salame Napoli Campania Pork and veal Smoked salami flavored with orange zest and garlic steeped in wine; sometimes conserved in olive oil or under ashes.
Salame Sant'Angelo Sicily Pork Salami made from finely minced rather than ground top-quality pork meat; stuffed into natural bowels and hung to age.
Salame Toscano Tuscany Pork Salami that is sometimes flavored with garlic.
Salsiccia Calabria Pork Sausage, usually obtained from the shoulder, spiced with chili or red pepper, aged a minimum of 1 month, and braided.
Salsiccia Cruda di Bra Piedmont Veal Spiced sausage, eaten raw, sautéed, or grilled.
Salsiccia di Castrato Lombardy Mutton Rare sausage from the Valcamonica.
Salsiccia di Lecce Apulia Pork and beef Sausage enriched with Pancetta (unsmoked bacon); flavored with white wine, cinnamon, cloves, and lemon zest.
Salsiccia di Monte San Biagio Latium Pork Sausages sometimes conserved in olive oil.
Salsiccia di Polmone Campania Pork Sausage made from pork lights, especially in Apice.
Salsiccia di Rionero Molise Pork Fennel-flavored sausage conserved under a layer of fat.
Salsiccia Pezzente Basilicata Pork Sausage made from minced pork scraps (head, cheek, lights, liver, and nerves), generously spiced and flavored with garlic; grilled and eaten on toasted bread, in soups, or over polenta.
Salsiccia Sarda Sardinia Pork Sausage made from coarsely ground pork shoulder and belly; it is flavored with salt, pepper, and garlic, with the possible addition of chili and other spices, then stuffed into a casing, formed into a horseshoe shape, and aged at least 3 weeks. Sometimes smoked, it is grilled when fairly young or eaten raw when aged long enough.
Salsiccia Stufata Molise Pork Cooked sausage that may include pork liver.
Sanguinacci Sardinia Pork Pork blood sausage featuring sugar, raisins, herbs like thyme and mint, Pecorino, chopped boiled chard, and more. Often spread on pane carasau, because they are soft even after boiling.
Sanguinaccio di Lecce Apulia Pork Blood and brain sausage; typically eaten boiled or grilled.
Sanguinati Molise Pork Blood pudding scented with raisins, orange zest, parsley, chili, and garlic.
Scammarita Latium Pork Loin flavored with garlic and pepper; tied like a salami and aged.
Scodeghini Trentino-
Alto Adige Pork Humble salami that makes use of all the parts of the pig that couldn't be incorporated in other preparations, including the skin and cheeks.
Soppressa del Pasubio The Veneto Pork Ground pork salami flavored with garlic steeped in red wine, aged 1 year; potatoes and chestnuts form the basis of the diet of pigs raised on the slopes of the Pasubio, so their meat acquires an unmistakable taste.
Soppressata Molise/
Campania/
Basilicata/
Calabria Pork Salami from lean pork meat and pork fat (preferably from small black pigs). The meat is cut by knife rather than ground, then spiced, stuffed into casings, and pressed under a weight to obtain its characteristic flattened shape (hence the name). Traditionally hung near the hearth to age and acquire a delicate smoky aroma. Sometimes conserved in olive oil or lard; may contain pork blood or ground sweet peppers for a brighter red color.
Soppressata di Fabriano The Marches Pork Salami made of finely ground lean meat and strips of lard;, dried over a fire 3 to 4 days.
Soppressata or Testa in Cassetta or Mallegato Tuscany Pork Noble and humble cuts of pork, including the head and cartilage, are ground, spiced, stuffed into casings, and pressed under weights, then hung to age.
Spalla Cotta di San Secondo Emilia-Romagna Pork The cured pork shoulder Giuseppe Verdi loved; aged from 2 to 3 months, smoked or unsmoked.
Speck Trentino-
Alto Adige Pork Rosy smoked ham made from the best pig thighs which are dry-salted and aged from 5 to 6 months.
Speck Quadrato or Peze Enfumegade Trentino-
Alto Adige Pork Square smoked ham made from the best parts of the back of the pig, which are hung to smoke over beech and juniper wood.
Strinù Lombardy Beef and pork Sausage flavored with wine, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper; made in the Valcamonica.
Su Zurette Sardinia Lamb or sheep Blood sausage flavored with mint and Pecorino. Often spread on pane carasau, because they are soft even after boiling.
Testa in Cassetta Liguria Pork Delicately flavored, fatty head cheese.
Teutenne or Tetette or Tetin Val d'Aosta Beef Salted cow udder flavored with sage and garlic, aged briefly.
Tzemesada or Mesada Val d'Aosta Beef A fresh version of Mocetta, with a softer texture.
Ventricina Molisana Abruzzo/
Molise Pork Spreadable pork sausage similar to Ciauscolo; flavored with chili.
Ventricina Vastese Abruzzo Pork Pork salami spiced with chili and wild fennel; aged at least 3 months.
Violino Lombardy Sheep, goat, or chamois This ham earned its name because of the way it is held against the shoulder as it is sliced.
Zampitti Apulia Pork, beef, and lamb Long sausages made meat trimmings; often flavored with grated Pecorino or fennel seeds and best on the grill.
Zampone Emilia-Romagna Pork Pork meat, head, and rind stuffed into the skin of the pig's hoof; a specialty of Modena.
