APULICA / MEATS AND CURED MEATS

Zampina di Sammichele di Bari

PGI · PAT · Meats and cured meats · Puglia

Apulica editorial team · Sources checked: 2026-10-12

In brief

A fresh sausage for cooking, of beef and mutton with grated aged cheese, peeled tomato, basil, salt and pepper, in a sheep casing. (Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Zampina di Sammichele di Bari IGP)
It is coiled into a spiral 50-60 cm long, held by a skewer. (Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Zampina di Sammichele di Bari IGP)
The production area is the municipality of Sammichele di Bari alone. (Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Zampina di Sammichele di Bari IGP)
It is on Puglia's national list of traditional products. (Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026))

History and origin

Zampina is the speciality of Sammichele di Bari, an inland town in the Bari area that has made this sausage its emblem. Several stories explain the name. The best known, reconstructed by the local poet Stefano Mallardi, stems from a misunderstanding: for the Portuguese nobleman Miguel Vaaz, Count of Mola, the "zampina" was the iron stand holding the spit over the coals, but his servant, given the order, put the coiled sausage on the fire, and the name passed to it. Others say it comes from the skewers holding it together, which resemble a hen's foot, or from a smaller version of zampone.

In 1967 the town's butchers founded the Sagra della Zampina to promote a recipe faithful to tradition. Since 2001 the product has been on the national list of traditional products, and since 2014 under the name Zampina di Sammichele di Bari.

In 2026 came European registration as a Protected Geographical Indication: the application was published in February and the name entered in the register in June.

Sources: Atlante PAT Puglia (Università di Bari, Regione Puglia) — Zampina di Sammichele di Bari · Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Zampina di Sammichele di Bari IGP · Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026)

Area and method of production

The PGI specification limits the production area to the municipality of Sammichele di Bari alone. Zampina is a fresh sausage, eaten cooked, made from a mixture of beef and mutton, grated aged cheese, peeled tomato fillets, basil, salt and pepper. The mixture is stuffed into natural sheep casing.

The traditional recipe described in the atlas of traditional products also includes pork trimmings and stuffing into lamb or kid casing, and notes that the proportions of the meats change with the time of year. Each family of butchers has kept its own small variations, such as a dash of white wine in the mixture or basil in place of thyme, passed down from generation to generation.

The PGI version stands out precisely for using only beef and mutton, enriched with cheese, tomato and fresh basil.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Zampina di Sammichele di Bari IGP · Atlante PAT Puglia (Università di Bari, Regione Puglia) — Zampina di Sammichele di Bari

How to recognise it

Zampina is recognised by its shape: a long, thin sausage coiled into a spiral, 50-60 centimetres long and weighing 150-180 grams, held together by a metal or wooden skewer. Its colour is bright red, dotted with white specks of fat.

The colour comes from the tomato and stays after cooking, when the zampina keeps a good firmness and the meat remains juicy and tender. Its aroma is that of fresh meat, with notes of basil, tomato and cheese that make it instantly recognisable.

It is a fresh, delicate product: it must be refrigerated and eaten within a few days of being made. Butchers sell it loose, while supermarkets also stock it in modified-atmosphere trays, without preservatives.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Zampina di Sammichele di Bari IGP · Atlante PAT Puglia (Università di Bari, Regione Puglia) — Zampina di Sammichele di Bari

In the kitchen

Zampina is a fresh sausage that is always eaten cooked, and its bond with the grill is old: the very legend of its name tells of the coiled sausage placed on the coals instead of the stand that held the spit.

As it cooks it keeps its bright red colour and a good firmness, while the meat stays juicy and tender and releases the basil, tomato and cheese aromas of the mixture. That is why in Sammichele it is found not only at butchers' shops but also at bracerie, where meat is cooked on the grill.

The town festival serves it together with the bocconcino and good wine, a reminder that zampina is above all a festive dish for sharing.

Sources: Atlante PAT Puglia (Università di Bari, Regione Puglia) — Zampina di Sammichele di Bari · Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Zampina di Sammichele di Bari IGP · Comune di Sammichele di Bari — 60ª Sagra della Zampina, del Bocconcino e del Buon Vino

Where to taste it

The only place it comes from is Sammichele di Bari, a town in the inland Bari area. Here zampina is sold by butchers, bracerie, specialist shops and restaurants.

The highlight is the Sagra della Zampina, del Bocconcino e del Buon Vino, founded in 1967 and now in its sixtieth edition: three days of music, festivities and food and wine organised by the town council. The atlas of traditional products places it, by tradition, at the end of September.

Outside festival days zampina can be bought loose from the town's butchers or packed in trays; being a fresh product, it must be refrigerated and cooked within a few days.

Sources: Atlante PAT Puglia (Università di Bari, Regione Puglia) — Zampina di Sammichele di Bari · Comune di Sammichele di Bari — 60ª Sagra della Zampina, del Bocconcino e del Buon Vino