Pancetta Piacentina
Also known as: Piacenza pancetta, rolled pancetta from Piacenza, Pancetta Piacentina DOP
Pancetta Piacentina is an Italian PDO pork belly from the province of Piacenza: hand-salted with spices, rolled, tied and aged at least four months from salting, never smoked.
Pancetta Piacentina (Piacenza pancetta) is a dry-cured pork belly from the province of Piacenza, made below 900 m. It is rubbed by hand with salt and spices, rolled with the rind inside, tied and aged for at least four months from salting. It is never smoked: the slice is bright red with white fat, the taste sweet and savoury.
Piacenza's cured meats have long been famous. Milanese traders simply called them «roba de Piasenza», and in the early 1700s Cardinal Alberoni sent local salumi to the Spanish court. Earlier still, 12th-century mosaics in Piacenza and Bobbio marked December with a pig slaughter.
The cut is the central part of the belly, from the breastbone to the groin, including the side part of the teats. The pigs are heavy, 160 kg ±10 %, at least 9 months old, from Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, and the meat arrives chilled within 72 hours.
Salting is dry and by hand: per 100 kg of meat, 1.5–3.5 kg of salt, 30–50 g of pepper, up to 40 g of cloves and a little sugar. The bellies lie stacked at 3–5 °C for at least 10 days. Then they are scraped and rolled (lean meat may be added), the ends closed with pig bladder or diaphragm, tied and pricked. Up to 7 days of drying at 15–25 °C follow, then ageing at 10–14 °C — at least 4 months in all. PDO status came with Regulation (EC) 1263/96 of 1 July 1996.
Its closest relative is ordinary pancetta, but the Piacenza roll is easy to tell from other neighbours too. Bacon is smoked; this is not, and it ages 4 months or more. Guanciale comes from the cheek, not the belly. Lardo is pure back fat, while pancetta has layers of lean. A roll weighs 4–8 kg.
The label reads «Pancetta Piacentina» and «Denominazione di Origine Protetta», and the consortium seal shows a horn of plenty filled with salumi. Slicing and packing happen only in the province.
Why this matters to you: the specification warns that the rind comes off before slicing, and without it, exposed to air, pancetta oxidises, browns and turns rancid. So slice only what you will eat straight away. It is a dry-cured product, eaten without cooking.
Facts
| Animal | Heavy pig aged 9+ months, 160 kg ±10 %, from Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna |
|---|---|
| Cut | Central part of the belly, rolled, 4–8 kg |
| Curing | Hand dry-salting with spices 10+ days at 3–5 °C, rolling, drying up to 7 days, ageing at 10–14 °C; no smoking |
| Minimum maturation | 4 months from salting |
| Region | Piacenza province below 900 m (Emilia-Romagna) |
| Registered | PDO, Reg. (EC) 1263/96 of 1.07.1996; amended 2010 and 2014 |
| Nutrition | Dry rolled pancetta: 349 kcal, 20.2 g protein, 28.8 g fat, 4.14 g salt per 100 g (Ciqual 2025) |
How it connects to Cured meats & charcuterie
Pancetta Piacentina → then → Curing of meat → kind of → 🥓 Cured meats & charcuterie
Links
- Next step
- Curing of meat
- Made from
- 🐖 Pig
- Traditions
- 🧑🤝🧑 Italians
- Part of
- Pancetta
- Similar and different
- Pancetta
Frequently asked questions
What is Pancetta Piacentina?
An Italian PDO pork belly from Piacenza province: hand-salted with spices, rolled and aged at least 4 months from salting, never smoked.
How long is Piacenza pancetta aged?
At least 10 days of salting at 3–5 °C, up to 7 days of drying and ageing at 10–14 °C — at least 4 months in all.
Why does sliced pancetta spoil quickly?
The rind is removed before slicing, and without it, exposed to air, pancetta oxidises, browns and turns rancid — as the specification says.
How is Pancetta Piacentina different from guanciale?
Pancetta is made from the belly, guanciale from the cheek. Pancetta Piacentina is rolled and weighs 4–8 kg.
Is it true that pancetta is Italian bacon?
No. Pancetta Piacentina is not smoked, ages at least 4 months at 10–14 °C and is eaten dry-cured, without cooking.
What to read next
- 🐖 Pig — A domestic animal that feeds piglets with milk but does not provide it to humans.
- 🧑🤝🧑 Italians — The people of Italy; their cuisine rests on wine, olive oil and cheese, and in 2025 the country made 44.4 million hectolitres of wine, the most in the world.
- Curing of meat — Curing of meat is treatment with salt, often with nitrite, applied dry, as brine or by injection: salt binds water and, together with drying, makes meat suitable for long keeping.
Similar
Lardo di Colonnata · Prosciutto di San Daniele · Prosciutto Toscano · Prosciutto di Modena · Prosciutto di Norcia · Coppa di Parma
ℹ️ IARC (WHO) classes processed meat in Group 1 (carcinogenic to humans): each 50 g eaten daily raises colorectal cancer risk by about 18 %. Eat it in moderation.