19. Salame Cotto di Nepi

The tradition of cooked salami is typical throughout the Viterbo area, but in the village of Nepi the method of preparing this cured meat differs from that of the rest of Tuscia, making it a particularly prized and sought-after product. The first to document the existence of “cooked salami” was Apicius, a famous Roman chef, who, in his renowned cookbook *De Re Coquinaria* from the 1st century AD, described how this cured meat had been a staple on the tables of Roman patricians since the Imperial era. Today, the Nepi method is carried on by a handful of artisan butchers who continue local production; although it can traditionally be made all year round, it is produced from April to November, when warmer temperatures favour the product’s proper maturation. The preparation process requires the salami to be made from the meat of pigs reared exclusively in Italy. Specifically, the lean meat from the shoulder is minced, mixed with pork fat cut into small pieces, then seasoned with salt and pepper and flavoured with wine and garlic. The meat is then stuffed into natural casings, which are shaped into the characteristic horseshoe shape and tied in the centre, dividing the sausage into two separate pieces. This is followed by smoking overnight, either in a smokehouse or near a fireplace, and boiling for around three hours. As the salami does not keep for long, the cooked salami is sold – strictly whole – as soon as it has cooled.

The entrance to the town of Nepi is marked by the bulk of an imposing aqueduct, built with a system of large rows of arches in two rows, which rises 285 metres to rest against the Farnese walls. Although its appearance recalls an ancient era, the aqueduct was designed around the mid-1500s and not built until 1700. The intention was naturally to bring water to the town of Nepi. Most of the route of the aqueduct ran underground, but near the town walls the difference in height to be overcome was very large. To find a solution, a team of architects was called in, including Giacomo Barozzi, known as Vignola, who designed the engineering work. However, the work was only completed in 1727 by architect Filippo Barigioni, at the behest of Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali. The beauty of the work has attracted the interest of various artists over the centuries. In 1828, during his trip to Italy, the English painter William Turner immortalised the aqueduct's arches in his sketches. The maestro Mario Monicelli made it the backdrop for the first scenes of his masterpiece L'armata Brancaleone and the aqueduct itself appears in some scenes of the film Per grazia ricevuta with Nino Manfredi, filmed in 1971. Still today, the perfectly functioning structure feeds the monumental city fountains and is admired by modern visitors.