The mariola (Slow Food Ark of Taste) is a traditional cured meat of the Piacenza Apennines made using the finest parts of the pig.
In the mid and upper Nure valley, particularly in the area of Farini, it has been produced since the 15th century. This is a speciality with its roots deep in the peasant culture, where it was the salame eaten last, usually at Christmastime.
The name mariola means a "hidden pocket" and comes from the intestine used as a skin for the salame, a piece from the pig`s caecum that had the shape of a pocket. As it was very thick, this skin meant the meat could be cured for 6 to 10 months, giving the mariola a marked and distinctive flavour with concentrated rich flavours.
The long time needed to season and mature the mariola mean it is a cured meat that is difficult to produce and therefore very rare.