Mortadella di Bologna is a salami with the designation Protected Geographical Indication (IGP).

Loved the world over, mentioned in films, literature and in numerous writings of all periods, mortadella is the most representative gastronomic product of Bologna, so much so that in some parts of Italy, mortadella and Bologna have become synonyms.

It has ancient origins: there are two stones from the Roman period, kept in the Bologna Archaeological Museum: one shows pig-rearing, introduced to the Bolognese area by the Celts, while the other shows a butcher using a mortar (from which the sausage takes its name) to crush together the meat and spices used to prepare the sausage. The earliest written documents referring to mortadella date back to the Middle Ages and attribute the invention to Bolognese monks.

Typically it has a cylindrical shape and , when sliced, a pink colour with scattered white cubes of lard (the so-called “lardelli”), mostly taken from throat fat, the most highly considered. The smell is unmistakable, lightly spiced, while the taste is full and balanced, thanks specifically to the “lardelli” which add a touch of sweetness.

Mortadella di Bologna is produced using techniques that are unique in the world, starting with carefully selected pork from IGP-designated farms, which is minced three different ways, each one using a specific machine, the last of which has a name that says it all: “sterminio”! The “lardelli” are then added to the resulting mixture, which is put into skins in the quantities required (from 500g to 100kg). Cooking is the following phase and also the most delicate, in which the mortadella takes on its characteristic aroma. The process requires dry-air heaters, with cooking times from a few hours to whole days according to the size. The higher the quality of the meat (and in particular of the fat), the higher the temperature that the mortadella can stand, with the advantage of it becoming more digestible.

Over time the area of production has spread as far as Lombardy, but mortadella at its birthplace has a whole different flavour.

Zola Pedrosa' s Firms that join the Consorzio Produttori Mortadella Bologna (Mortadella Producers' Association):


ALCISA S.p.A.
Via Roma, 73 - 40069 Zola Predosa (BO)
Ph. 0039 051 6175555
Fax 00039 051 758378

FELSINEO S.p.A.
Via C. Masetti, 8/10 - 40069 Zola Predosa (BO)
Ph. 0039 051 758737
Fax 0039 051 3517154