in italiano

The Sienese Pig

The Sienese Pig

And to think, they risked becoming extinct! The pig breed cinta senese had almost disappeared after the second world war, with its breeding yield having also dropped to a dangerously low level, until, during the 1990's, people realised that this breed of pig produced such beautiful meats, and so the breed was re-born.

The name, cinta senese, comes from a physical characteristic of the pig, as they are black with a band of white hair, almost as if the pig is wearing a belt. This breed of pig comes from the Chianti region, and dates back to the Middle Ages. They live in a semiwild state, living on radish, mushrooms and acorns.

Its life in the wild is one of the reasons it faced extinction, but also one of the reasons for its newfound status: its diet (consisting mainly of acorns, a nut coming from live oak trees) has damaged their unique sweet flavour, however, it is still tastier (and redder!) than other pork meats. The meat of the cinta has a yellowish fatty consistency, and is rich in oleic acids.

For meat lovers around the world, the cinta is like gold, not only because of its fresh cuts of meat, but also for its salami, hams and fats, because they are sweeter than meats from other pigs.

In Sienese restaurants, the meat from the cinta has one general rule: it must be served with local wine in order for its truly unique taste to be fully appreciated, be it as a little snack or full on banquet.

The farming of the cinta is becoming more widespread throughout the Tuscan region, spreading from the pigs' original habitat of the Chianti hills, and in particular the Montagnola Senese area. The farming techniques and indeed the final products of the pig are protected by the DOP, which is a regulatory body set up to maintain the authenticity of the product.*

Other than the exceptional goodness of their meats, the story of the cinta is quite an exciting one, it has survived near extinction thanks to its natural characteristics, and now, thanks to biodiversity...is back on our plates!

*This is to make sure that consumers who are buying Tuscan olive oil, for example, are getting exactly that, and not a product grown and produced in another country, and merely packaged or labelled in Tuscany. The wine market has a similiar body, DOC.

Marti 1278 Weekly Price: Min. € 400,00 Max. € 500,00 Number of Beds: 5

San Macario apartment 1334 Weekly Price: Min. € 300,00 Max. € 400,00 Number of Beds: 4

Montaione 804 Weekly Price: Min. € 545,00 Max. € 1.316,00 Number of Beds: 26

Volterra 236 Weekly Price: Min. € 420,00 Max. € 770,00 Number of Beds: 12