We have now been producing ‘salumi’ for over 150 years! It all began with our great-grandfather Carlo who was the trusted ‘norcino’ (literally, pork butcher) of Maestro Giuseppe Verdi! It was Carlo himself who produced the salumi and culatelli whose praises were sung in the Maestro’s correspondence. Verdi wrote to his friends that his “dearest travelling companions are salame, culatelli, cooked shoulder of pork and my own wine !” Verdi’s culatelli had to be perfect, nicely rounded and full, made from large pigs, well fed and properly fattened, butchered during the winter months when the days are brief and cold, but, above all, the culatelli had to have enjoyed the sunshine of one summer and the fog of 2 autumns.

The wise elderly people of the lowlands (the “Bassa”) were well aware of the fact that in summer with rising temperatures, the culatelli enter a period of second fermentation and the meat was stressed, excellent for the quality of the salumi.

These jewels were only for the few! Only a few real connoisseurs who were already familiar with culatello were able to fully appreciate the unique taste and aftertaste which the local elders defined as “fragrance” or “tobacco, honeyed”. We never stopped producing the culatelli, but only for ourselves and a few friends; it was just too difficult to get people to understand the importance of the white dots and to explain the intensity and sapidness of the taste!

Now, however, times have changed and more people than ever understand culatello and have become connoisseurs of this inimitable product. This awareness together with the benefit of our collaboration with Slow Food has led us to decide to
increase production and bring it to wider attention. With the same passion, dedication and rigour which has always distinguished our product we have decided to create “Spigaroli’s Gold or Platinum Culatello”. Gold was one of the most
precious things that an agricultural worker possessed, maybe a gold chain or a pair of earrings but nothing very significant… the other form of gold which they held fast to and worshipped was in the cellars, constantly checked, brushed down and regarded just as highly as the gold hidden safely upstairs: the culatelli!!

These culatelli have the branding of the Consorzio of Culatelli di Zibello and of the former consortium of historical producers as well as the branding of the Slow Food Presidium… but, above all, they represent, and each one encloses, the knowledge and historical wisdom of the family which continues to produce the same exquisite delicacy as enjoyed by Maestro Verdi…

Massimo, Luciano, Antonia e Benedetta