Tuscany (Toscana)

Tuscan cured-meat culture is distinguished by fennel-seed flavoring (finocchiona, the regional fermented salami widely considered the best in Italy), saltier prosciutto than Parma's (Prosciutto Toscano DOP is meaningfully more saline), and the wild-boar (cinghiale) specialties of the Chianti countryside. The fennel tradition has practical origins: historically, fennel was cheaper than black pepper for spicing pork. The 'finocchiare' (to spice with fennel) verb in Italian dates from this tradition.

Chianti hills also produce cured wild-boar products — salame di cinghiale, cinghiale prosciutto, and the various spalla and lonza cuts — that are essentially extinct from large-scale Italian charcuterie but persist in small-village butchers like Falorni in Greve.