Alle origini di una vocazione alimentare: beccai e lardaroli nel mercato delle carni a Parma in età moderna

Alle origini di una vocazione alimentare: beccai e lardaroli nel mercato delle carni a Parma in età moderna (di Claudio Bargelli) - ABSTRACT: The agricultural food vocation of the economy of Parma has ancient roots, whose rediscovery allows to go back to the origins of a particular "food culture" widely acknowledged by literary sources and by the collective psychology itself. A decisive role in the achievements of this branch of economy was carried out for centuries by the "Lardaroli" guild, sprung soon after the second half of the 15th century, from the butchers’ guild, one of the most ancient "major guilds", the only one authorized until then to sell meat inside the town walls. The "Lardaria" guild owes its specifity to the nature of the foodstuffs - mostly originated in the Emilian area - derived from the processing of porc meat and the transformation of milk. As evidence of the acquired prestige, it is possible to mention that, since 1616, a kind of controlled origin certification was recognized to the Parmesan cheese coming from the dairies facing the city. These were the first isolated vanguards of a competitiveness that, even if temporarily repressed during the Napoleonic period and the Restoration, was able to arise successfully again during the second half of the 19th century. At that time it turned into the small but vital family business that, in accordance with a secular productive vocation, has reached the present status of the famous "Food Valley". One must, therefore, recognize the Parmesan "Lardaroli" merits in having laid the foundations of a specialized market, able to select high quality foodstuffs and satisfy the expectations of an exacting and faithful demand.

Claudio Bargelli, Alle origini di una vocazione alimentare: beccai e lardaroli nel mercato delle carni a Parma in età moderna in "ECONOMIA AGRO-ALIMENTARE" 1/2002, pp 178-208, DOI: