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The Cinta
Senese breed is not only the most appreciated pork breed, but even
the most frequently mentioned in history, in art and in myths.
It is still
present in the fresco painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti and located in
the Public Palace of Siena and titled: "Effetti del Buon Governo"
("Good Government Results").
The cinta
senese breed, native to the Montagnola Senese area and the Chianti
area, is the mother of all pork breeds in Tuscany.
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The Etruscans already reared it and then it was
among the Romans during their migrations; the farmers of the Middle
Ages survived plagues and famines thanks to this animal.
It was a good reserve of food for everybody as it
could be reared in the wild state for its resistance to bad weather.
In the past times, for the slow
growing up of this breed (slaughtered after 12 months from its
birth), quicker growing up breeds were privileged.
Following the trend of the most
recent times towards a re-discovery of ancient values and tastes,
the Cinta Senese is now breeded again.
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This breed differs
from other swine gender ones for a large white band covering chest,
withers, shoulders and front legs.
The rest of the
thin and short-bristled coat is black or slate-brown coloured; the
snout is sharp, nearly pointed, the small ears are falling over the
eyes, the rump is inclined and bones are strong; it has got a
scented meat, particularly tasty, excellent to be used both for
cooking and for classic Tuscan salami: hams, shoulders of ham,
sausages, bacon-fat and coppa.
The cinta senese
today is a bit different by that one painted by Lorenzetti, due to
the contaminations and crossbreeds which this breed has been
subjected to for Man"s will or indipendently from it (i.e. those
with "macchiaiola" or "maremmana" breed and with boars).
The production and
treatment area of the Cinta Senese pork meat is represented by the
administrative territory of Tuscan Region.
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The "Cinta Senese" breed is reared in a wild or in
a half-wild "controlled" state.
The cattle breeding area must be characterized by
woods, sowable lands and hill grazing; the feeding is integrated
with vegetable origin flours as barley, maize and favino flour.
Nowadays every pork is registered in the Genealogy
Book (as it is for Chianina breed) existin ever since 1934 (date of
first breed selections); the Book is kept by the Agriculture
Itinerant Chair of Siena.
The request of DOP has already been approved by the
Committee of Tuscan Region. The "Presidio" for Defense and
Protection of the Breed cooperates with the University of Firenze
(Zootechnology Dept.) and with the Provincial Farmers Association of
Siena.
The Association for the Protection of Cinta Senese
(even that cooperating with A.P.A. of Siena) was born in 2000 and is
locates in Siena, Via Camollia, 86.
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The "Presidio" is supported by the Province of
Siena, the Regional Park of Orcia Valley, the Provincial Farmers
Association of Siena and the Association for the Protection of Cinta
Senese.
The Meat
The Cinta Senese meat is
homogeneously veined of fat, while in the other breeds the fat side
and the lean side are sharply separated.
For that reason the cinta
senese meat is extraordinarily scented and tasty.
As per an old cliché, "of
a pork, you never throw anything away"; so many different salami
products can be prepared: bacon-fat, bacon, hog"s jowls, ham,
sausages, coppa and many others.
All that is well
accompanied by the classic Tuscan saltless bread and by the Tuscan
red wines (both tannic and structured).
Nowadays the production area includes the whole Tuscan
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The
Events
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Foiano della Chiana Flowers Fair 150 showers of
antiquarian art, art handicrafts, trees and flowers, garden
furnitures April
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Foiano della Chiana Pumpkins and Co. Tastings
of dishes with yellow pumpkins and typical products of Chiana
Valley October
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Cortona Market
exhibition of Bullock of Chianina Breed
March
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Cortona Middle Age in the
Fortress A window upon Cortona in XIV century
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where to buy
Ciboviaggiando suggests: