Lucanian
This ancient sausage originated in the southern Italy known as Lucania around 200 BC. It was first described by Marcus Gavius Apicius, a Roman gourmet and lover of refined luxury who lived sometime in the 1st century AD, during the reign of Tiberius in “A taste of Ancient Rome.” The sausage was brought back to Rome by soldiers who served in Lucania which also means that it was a staple of the soldier’s diet. Romans were known to carry dry sausages (salami) and it may be concluded that the nutritional value and preserving qualities of salami contributed largely to the success of Roman military machine. As Napoleon observed almost 2,000 years later: “the army marches on its stomach.” A conclusion can be made that Lucanian sausage must have been of the dry type (salami), otherwise it would have spoiled in soldier’s bag.
