In Cure, Masse, Olzano and Senzano the most important tradition is the one of salami. Every year, between January and February, the experts organize the long and patient ritual of salami processing.

Packing salami obtained from a pig takes at least 4 people for a day, each with a specific task: cutting the meat into large pieces by hand, mixing the dough, stuffing and tying.

In the second phase, the smoking process, the salami is hung in a special room, the “Ca ‘del Salam” (literally the house of salami): it is an ancient cellar with non-plastered stone walls, vaulted ceiling and a fire continuously fed with dry wood to maintain a constant and warm temperature. The chimney must be closed, in order to spread the smoke for the smoking of the salami in the room.

The freshly made salami is left hanging for thirty days; then it can be eaten or stored in normal cellars or in terracotta amphorae in grease.

Text taken from Visit Monte Isola