Mortadella di Bologna IGP is the city's defining cured pork: a pink, pistachio-studded, finely emulsified sausage, hot-cooked, served sliced thin as antipasto or stacked in a tigella sandwich at every salumeria counter.

Mortadella has been cured in Bologna since the 14th century, with the first formal regulation issued in 1661 by Cardinal Farnese defining the legal pork-and-spice ratio. The name derives from the Roman mortarium (mortar) used to pound the pork. The IGP designation was granted by the European Commission on 12 June 1998, restricting production to Emilia-Romagna and four neighbouring regions, and codifying the cubes of throat-fat at 15 percent, the pistachio garnish and the slow steam cooking. Tamburini, Atti and Salumeria Simoni all slice it to order at the counter.

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