The Pink Queen
There are aromas and flavours that can take us back in time, sometimes even to our childhood: for Italians, mortadella is probably one of these. It is difficult not to think of the rosette bread rolls with mortadella eaten as a snack at school, or the tasty sandwiches enjoyed during outdoor picnics.
Mortadella is the product of gastronomic culture that is most deeply rooted in the past, and its place of origin leaves no room for doubt: it is also called “Bologna” because it was in the capital of Emilia that the original and authentic recipe was created.
It is believed that mortadella dates back to the times of ancient Etruscan Felsina and Bononia of the Boii Gauls.
There are two hypotheses regarding the etymology of the name:
Regardless of the origin of its name, Mortadella has been a widely appreciated cold cut since its birth, whose composition was jealously guarded for centuries by the Arte dei Solaroli, one of the oldest guilds in Bologna.
Vincenzo Tanara, an agronomist from Bologna, published the recipe for mortadella for the first time in his treatise ‘L'economia del cittadino in villa’ (The Economy of the Citizen in the Villa), providing precise instructions on ingredients and preparation, which have proven to be particularly reliable over time, even if they differ from today's procedures.
In 1661, in order to regulate the production of mortadella and prevent attempts at counterfeiting, a proclamation was issued by the Cardinal Legate of Bologna, Girolamo Farnese, as an official guarantee of the quality of the product, which had to meet specific requirements, including the exclusive use of selected pork.
This led to the creation of the first regulations for mortadella, with the Solaroli guild having exclusive responsibility for monitoring and affixing the seal of guarantee.
Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, mortadella was a luxury item, reserved for the wealthiest tables and costing up to three times as much as cured ham. It was only with industrialisation that it became accessible to everyone, without ever losing its nobility.
Until the 18th century, it was forbidden to produce it outside the walls of Bologna without the Solaroli seal, confirming its refined and complex production process. Mortadella requires slow cooking and expert hands: for this reason, it has never been part of peasant tradition, but has remained linked to highly specialised production limited to the local area.
The history is punctuated by admirers of mortadella of great renown, to mention just a few:
Galileo Galilei
He had a weakness for thinly sliced mortadella, as can be seen from the private correspondence he exchanged between 1636 and 1641 with Bonaventura Cavalieri, professor of mathematics at the University of Bologna, who also became his official “supplier” of mortadella.
Giuseppe Garibaldi
He received with great joy mortadella and tortellini produced by one of his companions in the Expedition of the Thousand, Medardo Bassi from Bologna, nephew of the hero of the Risorgimento, Ugo Bassi.
Gioacchino Rossini
He spent most of his life in Bologna, so much so that he qualified as a “citizen of Bologna by choice”, and, once he moved to Paris in the last years of his life, he never gave up his beloved mortadella, getting it shipped to France.
Only mortadella produced in accordance with the regulations and within the authorised territory can bear the PGI mark.
The Consorzio Tutela Mortadella Bologna (Mortadella Bologna Protection Consortium) monitors, protects and promotes this Bolognese delicacy.
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