We left the town of Parma for a day trip into the countryside. The first stop was to be a salumi factory in another small village – I had images of a sterile building, following a guide on an industrial tour. Didn’t sound all that great to me.
The reality was totally different: this place reminded me of the estates one finds in Napa or Sonoma. The property was the birthplace of a famous Italian: Giuseppe Verdi. It became the manor home – some call it a castle – where taxes had to be paid to cross the bridge in the long Po river, nearby. Today it is an exclusive small hotel, with a Michelin started restaurant, and a basement cureing center for pork.
So how does salumi figure into all of this? Salumi is a generic word for all kinds of cold colds, like salami, but the king of cold cuts is called culatello Parma ham, which is taken from the black pork and is considered the ultimate delicacy for those who like cold cuts. The pork is hung and cured in the basement of the building.
These hams are sold to the finest restaurants the world over and are reserved in advanced. It takes at least six months to cure one, and we saw the names of restaurants and individuals who have reserved their pork: Prince Albert of Monaco is one, Prince Charles of Great Britain is another.
After our visit to this magnificent estate, we were driven to the Po river -Italy’s longest river – for our pontoon river cruise with our captain, a naturalist who also fishes the river and knows much of its lore. We docked at Giarola Island and had a picnic lunch in a fisherman’s cabin and heard tales of life on the river . We had focaccio with cold cuts of ham, a fruit salad and cookies, washed down with red or white wine and water.
