Tasty Tales from the Italian Ham Highway: Antica Corte Pallavicina

From the heights of the snowcapped Dolomites to the verdant Valle del Cibo, I recently had the delicious pleasure of visiting a number of the finest food and drink producers in northern Italy, taking in lots of pretty countryside along the way and getting to known some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met.

After my folksy November Porc pig out, I called it a night in a rather more exclusive but nonetheless porcine setting a couple of villages over from Roccabianca. Sitting as high on the hog as ever in my life, my stay at Antica Corte Pallavicina was an absolute pleasure and – dare I say – worth the trip to Italy alone.

Just outside the blink-and-miss-it village of Polesine Parmense, Antica Corte Pallavicina is a gorgeously restored 14th century castle situated on the banks of the Po that’s been transformed into a six room boutique hotel with Michelin starred restaurant. As refined as it is rustic, the venue is the result of nearly two decades of dedication by local chef Massimo Spigaroli (whose other Michelin starred restaurant, Al Cavallino Bianco is located in the same village). Dining at Pallavicina was a sumptuous affair, yielding one of the loveliest meals I’ve had this year. Knowing that practically everything I put in my mouth came from here and was made onsite made all the more tasty.

Pallavicina has its own working farm with vineyard and, most notably, one of the world’s most famous cellars for ageing culatello. Indeed, one of the biggest thrills of my Ham Highway adventure was getting to prod around in Pallavicina’s cellar. I swear, the smell alone down there was one of the most alluringly savoury aromas I’ve ever had the pleasure to encounter. What a waft when the cellar door was opened!

The cellar is a pretty basic place – just a big underground hole with a bunch of hams hanging from the ceiling. There’s one window, facing the Po, that is used to regulate the humidity and temperature. And the Pallavicina peeps will tell you that it’s that very window and its proximity to the river and its fog that makes their culatelli taste so scrumptious. If getting a waft of the cellar was an earthly delight, then eating it just upstairs in the restaurant was a heavenly indulgence.

As the name implies, culatello is cured ham from the backside of a pig. It’s the yummier and more substantial piece of a prosciutto. And as far as I’m concerned it’s the undisputed king of cold cuts. From what I tasted while at Pallavicina, the cuts coming from its cellar are as good as I’ll ever come by. But don’t take my word for it.

Sniffing through the cellar, I was fascinated to see so many of the hams with little boards attached with the handwritten names of those who laid claim to them. Alain Ducasse, Rene Redzepe, the Armani shop in Paris, along with a certain SAR Principe Carlo and others all had a ham reserved and hanging here.

Of course, process is only one aspect to what makes the any product special. You’ve got to have quality ingredients to begin with. Pallavicina has its own drove of indigenous Black Parmesan pigs. I paid ’em a visit in the morning before moving on to my next destination. They seemed happy and well looked after. They were inside the barns on the morning I came (just in time for the farm’s first frost) but are free range ad

Beyond the fantastic culatello, fine dining restaurant and deluxe accommodations, Antica Corte Pallavicina offers farm tours, cookery classes, boat trips and plenty more. For details go to acpallavicina.com.

For more about the region of Emilia-Romagna visit emiliaromagnaturismo.it.