A wide variety of

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

s (, ; : ''salsicce'') are made in Italy, having evolved through the centuries into many regional varieties. The sausages will typically be either a type of fresh sausage (Italian: ''salsiccia fresca''), or a type of dried sausage (Italian: ''salsiccia secca''). There are also some types of sausages that can be either used fresh or cured, such as Tuscan sausages (Italian: ''salsicce toscane'').

History

The Italian sausage was initially known as ''

lucanica ''Lucanica'' was a rustic pork sausage in ancient Roman cuisine. Apicius documents it as a spicy, smoked beef or pork sausage originally from Lucania; according to Cicero and Martial, it was brought by Roman soldiers from Lucania. It has given i ...

'', a rustic pork sausage in

ancient Roman cuisine The cuisine of ancient Rome changed greatly over the duration of the civilization's existence. Dietary habits were affected by the political changes from republic to empire, and Roman economy#Trade and commodities">Roman trading with foreigners ...

, with the first evidence dating back to the 1st century BC, when the Roman historian

Marcus Terentius Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...

described stuffing spiced and salted meat into pig intestines, as follows: "They call ''lucanica'' a minced meat stuffed into a casing, because our soldiers learned how to prepare it." The writings of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

and

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...

also mention ''lucanica'' (Lucian sausage) as a speciality introduced in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

by the Lucanian

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. A recipe for preparation is provided in the first century ''

Apicius ''Apicius'', also known as ''De re culinaria'' or ''De re coquinaria'' (''On the Subject of Cooking''), is a collection of Food and dining in the Roman Empire, Roman cookery recipes, which may have been compiled in the fifth century CE, or ea ...

''.

Types of sausage in Italy

''Mazzafegato''

'' Mazzafegato'' sausage ('

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

mash', or 'liver sausage') is a sausage typically from

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

, and

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

regions that includes mashed liver. The style from Abruzzo includes pork liver, heart, lungs, and pork cheek, and is seasoned with garlic, orange peel, salt, pepper, and

bay leaves The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used as a herb in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. The flavour that a bay leaf ...

''Salsiccia al coriandolo''

The ''salsiccia al coriandolo'' ('coriander sausage'), from the ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) of

Monte San Biagio Monte San Biagio ( Southern Laziale: ''Muntciegl'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, in southern Lazio (Italy). It is located on the slope of a hill part of the Monti Ausoni. Until 1862 it was known as Monticello. History and m ...

, Lazio, also includes coriander, sweet chili peppers, and sweet

red wine Red wine is a type of wine made from dark-colored grape varieties - (red grapes.) The color of the wine can range from intense violet, typical of young wines, through to brick red for mature wines and brown for older red wines. The juice fro ...

''Salsiccia al finocchio''

''Salsiccia al finocchio'' ('

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

sausage') is a sausage popularised in the

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

region. These sausages differ from the Tuscan style sausage due the addition of crumbed, dried fennel seeds to the other spices used.

''Salsiccia fresca''

''Salsiccia fresca'' ('fresh sausage') is a type of sausage that is usually made somewhat spicy. It is made from fresh meat (often pork) and fat, and is flavoured with spices, salt, and pepper, and traditionally stuffed into natural gut casings. ''Salsiccia fresca al peperoncino'' ('fresh chilli sausage') is a spicy sausage flavoured with chopped garlic, salt, and chilli pepper (which gives the sausage a redder colour).

''Salsiccia secca''

''Salsiccia secca'' ('dried sausage') is an air dried sausages typically made from either the meat of domestic pigs or from the meat from wild boars.

''Salsiccia sotto la cenere''

Another Sicilian sausage, ''salsiccia sotto la cenere'' ('sausage under the ash') is a style of sausage traditionally cooked in the ashes of the hearth.

''Salsiccia toscana''

''Salsiccia toscana'' (' Tuscan sausage'), also known as ''sarciccia'', is made from various cuts of pork, including the shoulder and ham, which is chopped and mixed with herbs such as

sage #REDIRECT Sage {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...

and

rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers. It is a member of the sage family, Lamiaceae. The species is native to the Mediterranean r ...

References

{{Sausage Italian sausages Fresh sausages