The DOP raw ham of the Langhirano hills: pork legs cured with sea salt and mountain air for 12 to 36 months, sweet where other hams are salty, sliced to silk in the city's salumerie.
Parma ham was praised by Roman writers, but the modern Prosciutto di Parma DOP is a discipline of geography: legs salted and aged in the valley south of the city, where air moving between Apennines and plain dries them slowly. Only salt is permitted. The consortium's ducal crown brands each approved ham, Langhirano cures most of them, and the September Festival del Prosciutto opens the curing houses to visitors.
4 editor picks for Prosciutto di Parma in Parma, ranked by editorial score. All Parma signature dishes · Prosciutto di Parma across every city.
Trattoria Sorelle Picchi ★ 4.3
centro-storico · Strada Luigi Carlo Farini 27, 43121 Parma
Trattoria Sorelle Picchi grew out of a historic salumeria on Strada Farini in Parma, so lunch starts at the counter: culatello, coppa and spalla cotta.
Salumeria Garibaldi ★ 4.2
centro-storico · Strada Giuseppe Garibaldi 42, 43121 Parma
Salumeria Garibaldi slices Parmigiano aged up to 100 months and hand-tied culatello on Strada Garibaldi in Parma, a serious 1950s grocery institution.
Trattoria del Grillo ★ 4.1
Vigatto · Strada Martinella 281, 43124 Parma
Trattoria del Grillo in Vigatto won TV Parma's contest for the city's best torta fritta, pairing the fried puffs with Ponte Romano prosciutto crudo.
Taverna del Castello ★ 4.0
Torrechiara · Strada del Castello 25, 43013 Torrechiara, Langhirano
Taverna del Castello sits below Torrechiara's frescoed castle south of Parma, feeding prosciutto-country walkers on the village's stone lane before the climb.