Cinta Senese are wild white pigs reknown since 1338 and at present under the strict regulations of the European Community.
It has a long snout, black bristles and a white stripe which girdles its flanks, hence its name (cinta in Italian means ‘girdled’). It lives in the hills around Siena, especially the woodlands near Monteriggioni, Sovicille and Casole.
Like all the old breeds, the Cinta Senese is hardy, ideal for wild or semi-wild breeding. Today, as in the past, it lives in a natural state in the woods and feeds mainly on herbs and acorns. Recently, a number of farms in Tuscany have begun to breed the pigs. http://www.viatraveldesign.com/detail/220.htm
Notably, it is visible in Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s fourteenth-century fresco ‘Good Government’ (in the Sala della Pace in the Palazzo Comunale in Siena).
There is a good winery in the Maremma that also raises these pigs.
La Busattina
Localita' Busattina Mercante,11
58050 San Martino Sul Fiora (Grosetto)
+(0564).607766
Proprietors: Emilio Falcione and Elisabetta Funghi
Emilio Falcione and Elisabetta Funghi started creating La Busattina in 1991 when they decided to start a farm run with the Biodynamic principles of Organic farming. Doing most of the work by hand, they rebuilt the existing structures and added new ones to this very remote property. Over the years, they have pioneered the way as one of the first to reintroduce the historic Tuscan variety of Cinta Senese pigs. Donkeys are their latest project.
Their auspicious microclimate led them to the new winery enterprise and enologist Paolo Caciorgna, that has launched them as one of the first Biodynamic wine producers in Italy.
Bio-dynamic Rosso di Sovana-60% Sangiovese and 40% Ciliegiolo.
Macelleria Falaschi offers the gastronomic products of this archaic breed:
Macelleria Falaschi
Via Augusto Conti 18-20
San Miniato
http://www.sergiofalaschi.it/
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