The story behind La Pizza del Vescovo Farnese

PLEASE NOTE: THIS SPECIAL IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE

At La Corte Segreta, we are celebrating a special pizza: La Pizza del Vescovo Farnese, a creation that showcases mortadella.

But why this name? Here is the story that inspired it.

In the sixteenth century, in Emilia-Romagna, mortadella was a much-loved speciality… but it was also often poorly imitated. Some unscrupulous butchers mixed pork with other poor-quality meats, or even dubious ingredients, to make more for less. At that time, there were no rules governing its production.

There is even a story of a trader caught adding donkey meat to his mixture!

Or another who added sawdust to his mortadella to bulk it out and deceive his customers!

Faced with this disorder, one man decided to act: Bishop Alessandro Farnese. A great lover of good food, he summoned the butchers of Bologna to understand what was happening. He asked them to explain how real mortadella was made and why some were adulterating it.

The artisans replied passionately: real mortadella is made with carefully selected pork, pepper, sometimes pistachios, and slow cooking that brings out all its flavour.

Convinced, Bishop Farnese decided to issue a decree in 1661 to protect this charcuterie and prevent fraud. That is how mortadella became an emblematic product of Italian cuisine.

Today, with La Pizza del Vescovo Farnese at La Corte Segreta, we pay tribute to this story by showcasing an exceptional product: our high-quality mortadella, guaranteed 100 % pork and free from sawdust. 😜

Discover it on our Pizza Menu

(Please note: this is a special pizza and will not always be available.)