STEFANO AZARIO

fare il maiale

"Fare il maiale" is an expression in Italian for the yearly ritual of killing the pig to make salamis, sausages and hams and butchering the rest for fresh meat.The beauty of the process is very little is wasted. The entrails are cleaned and used as skins for the sausages, the head and tongue are found in the “soppressata”, the fat used for lard and salamis.

Traditionally this is done in winter as the colder temperatures allow for it to be done outside safely and often near a holiday. In a remote part of Northern Tuscany, near the village of Bagnone in Lunigiana is the hamlet of Stazzone, where Vincenzo “does” his pig. A builder by trade, originally from Calabria in the south of the boot, he traveled north and found work at 18, met Marika when she was barely 15, stayed, married and the rest is history. Two children later, he’s invested in a more comfortable orthopedic mattress and otherwise his life has changed little.

Vincenzo is a man of many skills and after a day of making stone walls he can be found milking goats, making ricotta, experimenting with pecorinos and, depending on the season, making wine, going vegetables, tending chicken or as we see him here, “doing the pig”. Others come and go, help or pretend to, but he’s the one doing it for real. Beppe, his behemoth of a father in law was once that man, in charge and able, but now fades in the background a little as age and pains are taking their toll.

Fare il maiale ( Doing the pig )

"Fare il maiale" is an expression in Italian for the yearly ritual of killing the pig to make salamis, sausages and hams and butchering the rest for fresh meat.The beauty of the process is very little is wasted. The entrails are cleaned and used as skins for the sausages, the head and tongue are found in the “soppressata”, the fat used for lard and salamis.

Traditionally this is done in winter as the colder temperatures allow for it to be done outside safely and often near a holiday. In a remote part of Northern Tuscany, near the village of Bagnone in Lunigiana is the hamlet of Stazzone, where Vincenzo “does” his pig. A builder by trade, originally from Calabria in the south of the boot, he traveled north and found work at 18, met Marika when she was barely 15, stayed, married and the rest is history. Two children later, he’s invested in a more comfortable orthopedic mattress and otherwise his life has changed little.

Vincenzo is a man of many skills and after a day of making stone walls he can be found milking goats, making ricotta, experimenting with pecorinos and, depending on the season, making wine, going vegetables, tending chicken or as we see him here, “doing the pig”. Others come and go, help or pretend to, but he’s the one doing it for real. Beppe, his behemoth of a father in law was once that man, in charge and able, but now fades in the background a little as age and pains are taking their toll.

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