It Journal
Sunday, December 9,
2012
PIG FESTIVAL
If you have never attended a pig festival, you really must
find one. Peter’s group of about 15 students drove 15 minutes from Correggio to
Campagnola to enjoy the -9 degree Centigrade weather and roasting pig parts in
every direction. Mostly, the cooking consisted of melting down the fat to make
lardo (lard for cooking and snacking) and fried pig skins for snacking, as well
as making sausage. Sarah was very disappointed that they had gotten to the very
last stage – deep-frying the pig skins – when we had to leave. She tried to get
one of the cooks to bring out one and give it to her, but when she reached for
it, he threw it back into the vat. It was probably just as well. He would have
had them out for everyone to buy if they were cooked well.
This Pig Festival was quite a street party. A band consisting of all ages played many
songs…mostly Christmas and country songs… in the middle of the street. On both
sides were huge vats for cooking. I counted 8 in a row that were from 8
different farms. Each one was preparing their product with their own special
pigs and recipes. We couldn’t tell how many pigs had been slaughtered in
preparation for this event, but it must have been hundreds. As Peter said, the
pigs would have gone to market somewhere else if they hadn’t gone there. It’s
just that time of year.
Mierco Marconi was our guide for the day. He had been a
professor for Peter’s group earlier in the year, and he was thrilled that they
had come to learn all about Campagnola and pig products. We told him that our
friend Ella (Lisa’s mother) was planning to roast a pig’s leg in January, but
she was having trouble finding someone who could get one for her. He said, “No
problem! Just give me 2 weeks’ notice, and be prepared to come and pick it up!”
How’s that for incentive to come to Italy, Kyle and Victoria?
There were all sorts of crafts and other hand made items to
buy at this street market, too, and Peter and I picked up several things that
we liked.
We ended our time in Campagnola under a heated tent eating
lunch. It was delicious, and the heat was most welcomed by then. The drive home
was filled with the most gorgeous sunset ever imaginable, and as we neared Bra,
the snow topped mountains rose behind the horizon, and the sunset became even
more spectacular. What an unforgettable weekend we had, punctuated by a
spectacular sunset!
Thanks for a super weekend, Peter. Baci, Colleen
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