Every king has his crown. Prosciutto di Parma PDO: the king of hams.

Its kingdom? The Parma Food Valley.

It is called the "King of Hams," and it has an age-old history, a distinctive crown, and a well-defined "kingdom" that includes the area of the province of Parma not less than 5 km south of the Via Emilia, up to a maximum altitude of 900 meters, and bounded to the east by the Enza River and to the west by the Stirone stream.

Prosciutto di Parma PDO can only be produced in this small strip of land,

because this is where the ideal climatic conditions for its maturation product are found, and this is where the know-how that has led to the success of this local product was developed over the centuries.

The "King of Hams" is completely natural, additive-free, and contains only two ingredients: 100% Italian pork meat and salt.

The processing includes various stages. Salting is a true ritual, carried out by the expert hands of the Master Salter, who carefully works out the right amount of sea salt to be applied to the pork thighs before letting them rest for several days.

The pre-maturation phase involves the Marino, a dry wind that blows in from the sea, crosses the Apennines and reaches the hills of the Parma Food Valley. Here

it comes into contact with the pork thighs hanging from the traditional “scalere” (wooden frames) in large rooms with windows on either side that are opened and closed depending on the weather conditions.

After this phase, the hams are moved to the cellars, where the special environmental characteristics of the traditional production area develop the distinctive aroma and flavour of Prosciutto di Parma.

Needle testing is a crucial phase of the production process of Prosciutto di Parma PDO. A skilled craftsman, called "puntatore," inserts a fibula, a small horse bone, into the ham: his experienced sense of smell allows him to verify whether the maturation and aging process has been perfectly completed. After at least 14 months from the start of processing, and having passed the tests, the ham can be fire-branded with the five-pointed ducal crown, the unmistakable trademark that distinguishes it and guarantees its authenticity.