[article] Testa di Maiale and Other Florentine Treats

Testa di Maiale and Other Florentine Treats
Posted by Alban in Florence » Places To Shop on 07/Jan/2008

I might have had it and so have you, in all likelihood. It's just a way to make salami or any other kind of sausage. Usually, to make a salami, you take an intestine, fill it with ground up pig parts and there you go. In this case, however, you'll start with an emptied head (eyes and mouth sewn shut, all by hand) and get it filled with the ground stuff from the rest of the body.

This particular beauty was spotted at a grocery shop (La Standa, via Pietrapiana, 42, near Piazza Cesare Beccaria). And there's more good stuff in that neighborhood (read on)...

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I really dig the pig! Very medieval. Hand-crafted to boot! But, hey, no one has invented a machine to do that type of labour yet, hence the coroners, undertakers, butchers ... . Enough of the macabre!

Other interesting things to do in that area are:

- Go to the Antique/Flea Market (halfway up Via Pietrapiana) in Piazza dei Ciompi. Just a hop, skip and a jump away from La Standa grocery store, it is open almost every weekend. You can get all kinds of things, from old lace and linens, lamps, odds n' ends to used clothing. I bought a shirt there for 5,000 Lire (about $5 CDN) that I still wear!

- Meander up Via Pietrapiana which turns into Borgo La Croce, one of my favourite streets. It is quiet and has some great stores: clothing, furniture and all the household trimmings.

- If you're in the mood for a film, continue up Borgo La Croce to Piazza Beccaria and turn right: Ta-daa! A cinema!

- Visit Santa Croce, the church and the piazza, both favourites of mine: the piazza for its simple elegance, the church for its starry façade and the famous personalities it contains (literally): Niccolò Macchiavelli, Gallileo Galilei, Michelangeo Buonarotti, Ugo Foscolo, to name just a few. Found at the end of Via Giuseppe Verdi, the open space of this piazza often has a skating rink in the winter. It has also imported a tradition – German Christmas markets.

Now, that's an itinerary that ought to occupy someone for a while!