Mortadella () is a large Italian sausage or luncheon meat (salume ) made of finely hashed or ground heat-cured pork, which incorporates at least 15% small cubes of pork fat (principally the hard fat from the neck of the pig). It is traditionally flavoured with black pepper grains, but modern versions can also contain pistachios or, more rarely, myrtle berries. The best-known version of mortadella is Mortadella Bologna PGI, but other varieties are found across Italy, including some made of other meats. Etymology The origin of the name is debated. One theory derives the name from the Latin word (mortar), traditionally used to pound the meat to produce the sausage. This theory, proposed by Giancarlo Susini, professor of ancient history in the University of Bologna, relies on two funerary steles kept in the Archaeological Museum of Bologna, believed to pertain to the same monument, one showing a herd of piglets and the other a mortar and pestle. Another theory, introduced by Ovidio Montalbani in the 17th century, derives the name from a Roman sausage flavoured with myrtle berries that Romans called or (myrtle sausage). Myrtle was in fact a popular spice before pepper became available to European markets. History Traditionally, the pork filling was ground to a paste using a large mortar ( ) and pestle. Mortadella originated in Bologna, the capital of Emilia-Romagna. Anna Del Conte (The Gastronomy of Italy 2001) found a sausage mentioned in a document of the official body of meat preservers in Bologna dated 1376 that may be mortadella. Varieties In Italy Mortadella di Bologna has Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status under European Union law and is the best known worldwide. The zone of production is extensive; as well as Emilia-Romagna and the neighbouring regions of Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Marche, and Tuscany, it includes Lazio and Trentino. The American sausage called "bologna" is named after the mortadella of Bologna. Mortadella di Prato, produced in Tuscany (Prato), is also defined by an PGI. It is flavoured with pounded garlic and coloured with alchermes. Mortadella of Campotosto, high in the Apennines of northern Lazio, is lightly smoked. Mortadella di cavallo is made from horsemeat in Albano Laziale in Lazio. Elsewhere Ibero-American cultures Mortadella is very popular in Spain and Portugal, where a variety with pepper and olives is widely consumed, especially in sandwiches. In eastern Spain, the standard mortadella is often referred to as (Italian mortadella) to