Langhirano rhymes with Parma Ham. And a tour in the town of hams is not complete without a visit to the museum that houses the pork leg curing secrets. The Museo del Prosciutto e dei salumi di Parma (Parma Ham, salami and cured meat museum) is included in the route of the Parma province’s Food Museums, dedicated to the Parma region’s local products, that from 2004 till today have received more than 73,000 visitors. The following are also part of the route: the Parmigiano Reggiano Museum, in Soragna, the Salami Museum in Felino, the Museo del Pomodoro (Tomato Museum) in Collecchio (to be opened on September 25th). Places of very charming sources and tales, the Food Museums offer themselves as welcome centres and centres for an experience of the senses and closer examination of the culture of the region’s local products, so that their history and traditions will not be lost. The Museum is in the fully restored complex of the ex Foro Boario, splendid rural architecture of the early twentieth century, historically used for cattle trading. Langhirano is an oasis of peace, characterized by the mildness of the climate and the air, by the picturesque vineyards and by the extraordinary Torrechiara Castle, splendid on the hills, with its mighty walls, the fifteenth century village, the elegant court, the fascinating kitchens, its frescoed rooms.

Organized into eight sections, the visiting route starts with the region, with a description of Parma agriculture, and then goes on to the section dedicated to pig breeds and to the salt section, which tells the history of this very important food preservation tool that, thanks to the Salsomaggiore wells, favoured the development over time of the art of salami and cured meat production. The fourth room is dedicated to pork butchery and, in addition to numerous historical documents about the slaughter of pigs over the centuries, houses a wide range of ancient pork butchery objects. The remaining sections concentrate on the Parma region’s other local salamis and cured meats, on gastronomy, on ham processing techniques and on the Parma Ham Consortium, which guarantees the quality of this extraordinary product that is known and highly regarded throughout the world, on the region and on agri-food production. Info and bookings: www.museidelcibo.it

Museo del Prosciutto e dei salumi di Parma (Parma Ham, salami and cured meat museum)
C/o Ex Foro Boario – Via Bocchialini, 7 – Langhirano (PR)

Open to the public:
From 1 March to 8 December
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: 10:00 – 18:00
From Monday to Friday: by booking for groups
From December to February
Open only by booking for groups

Ticket price:
Full € 4.00
Reduced € 3.00 groups (minimum 15 persons), adults aged over 65 years,
promotion of visitors to Torrechiara Castle at the weekend, agreements
Reduced for compulsory schools € 3.00 schools and children aged from 6 to 12 years
Free: disabled people and their attendants, group and student tour leaders, journalists, children under 6 years
Tasting of Parma Ham
Full € 3.00
Reduced € 2.00 (children up to 12 years)

Visitors also have the possibility of a tasting of local Parma products to be accompanied by a selection of Colli di Parma wines at the Prosciutteria (ham shop) of the Museum.

Guided visits
For groups of a maximum of 25 people: € 20.00 in addition to the entrance ticket. Booking is compulsory.

Museum Shop
During the Museum’s opening hours, publications, objects for the table and the region’s local products can be purchased from the Museum Shop situated in the exhibition rooms.

Information and Bookings (compulsory for groups and schools):
Museo del Prosciutto (Ham Museum): Tel. +39-0521.864324  Fax. ++39-0521.821139
e-mail: prenotazioni.prosciutto@museidelcibo.it
WEB: www.museidelcibo.it

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