Lombards

The Lombards consumed large amounts of wild hog meat. However, it was rarely used fresh, because already at that time, most of it was salted and processed into lard, hams and sausages, etc..

Salt was the most used preservative in ancient times; it was imported from sea coasts at a high price. This was easy for the Po Valley Lombards because they could obtain it in situ from saline springs, such as those of Salsomaggiore, near Parma.