Campotosto mortadella

History and origin

Campotosto, a village in the province of L'Aquila at the heart of the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, is the home of these small mortadellas. Because of their oval shape and the habit of selling them in pairs, tied two by two with hand-knotted string, they have always also been called «coglioni di mulo», mule's balls.

In the past making them was community work: the village families gathered to prepare the mortadellas together, which were then eaten from Easter onwards. The rules of that time are the ones still followed today.

In 2008 the producers formed an association to protect and promote the cured meat, and the Slow Food Foundation made it a Presidium, partly to set it apart from the industrial imitations seen hanging in many shops across central Italy. Campotosto mortadella is also on Abruzzo's list of traditional products.

Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Mortadella di Campotosto · Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga — La Mortadella di Campotosto · Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026)

Area and method of production

They are made in winter from selected lean cuts of pork, such as shoulder and ham, very finely ground, with a little pancetta for the right amount of fat. The mix is seasoned only with salt, pepper and flavourings whose proportions each producer guards closely.

A strip of lard about ten centimetres long goes into the centre. The mortadella is tied by hand with a double bridle, and a small stick slipped into the binding tightens it as the meat dries. Once made, the mortadellas hang from a pole for about fifteen days in the smoke of a fireplace burning oak or beech.

Then they move to naturally ventilated ageing rooms: the north wind and the altitude, around 1300 metres, provide the right temperature and humidity. The Presidium's rules require at least two months of ageing; at three months they are ready, with no preservatives or additives.

Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Mortadella di Campotosto · Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga — La Mortadella di Campotosto

How to recognise it

It is recognisable by its oval shape, irregular because it is handmade, and by being sold in pairs tied with string. When sliced, the meat is a deep, dark red, with the very white strip of lard running through the centre along its whole length: the hallmark that gives it flavour and softness.

In the mouth the meat is firm, slightly leathery, while the lard stays sweet and crisp. The flavour is full and long.

The differences from industrial mortadellas are clear to a careful eye: those use pre-sewn casings, frozen lard, elastic ties and less carefully chosen meat, with additives and preservatives that the original does not contain.

Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Mortadella di Campotosto · Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga — La Mortadella di Campotosto

In the kitchen

It is a serious cured meat with a bold flavour, best enjoyed simply sliced. Guides suggest it to enrich a starter, a snack or an aperitivo, alongside other Abruzzo cured meats and cheeses such as Vastese ventricina, Castel del Monte canestrato and Farindola pecorino.

Its full, lasting flavour calls for carefully chosen wines that can stand up to it: a cured meat to savour slowly, slice after slice.

Traditionally people begin eating it at Easter, when the mortadellas made in winter have finished ageing: a link to the festive calendar dating back to the days when the whole village made them together.

Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Mortadella di Campotosto · Italia.it — Prodotti e piatti tipici abruzzesi: la guida

Where to taste it

The right place is Campotosto itself, in the province of L'Aquila, inside the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga park. The association's producers work here, and here the meat ages in the mountain air.

The village looks out over Lake Campotosto, an artificial lake of about 1400 hectares created in the 1940s to feed a hydroelectric plant, at over 1300 metres and protected as a state nature reserve. Its shores draw anglers, canoeists, windsurfers and cyclists, and walkers among meadows and woods.

For travellers between L'Aquila and the villages of the Gran Sasso, a detour towards the Laga is the chance to taste the real mortadella and discover a corner of Abruzzo with wide open spaces.

Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Mortadella di Campotosto · Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga — La Mortadella di Campotosto · Italia.it — Riserva Naturale Lago di Campotosto

Protection

• Slow Food Presidium — mortadella-di-campotosto (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Mortadella di Campotosto)
• Traditional agri-food product (PAT) — Abruzzo, n. 15, 26th revision (Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026))

When

• The sources consulted give no months.

Where

Abruzzo

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