November Porc

If you only go once, go to Zibello. It is the culatello capital, and on Sunday November 22 the Chiostro dei Domenicani hosts a farmers' market while the Consorzio del Culatello demonstrates how the culatelli are tied, at set times. On Saturday November 21 and Sunday November 22 the village's Museo della Civiltà Contadina and Museo del Cinema are free. Polesine is the most atmospheric setting, on the Po itself, and it is where Antica Corte Pallavicina sits. Roccabianca adds guided visits to its castle with a distillate tasting from 10 a.m. on Saturday November 28.

The €3 contribution gets you in. Everything you eat and drink in the tents is paid separately, and the organizer does not publish tent menus or prices, so we cannot tell you what a plate costs this year. The free parts are the big Sunday rituals: the mariolone, the pretone, the fried strolghino and the cicciolata are "distributed free to everyone present", in the programme's words, while they last.

Two masterclasses are planned, at Zibello on Saturday November 21 at 11 a.m. (Teatro Pallavicino) and at Roccabianca on Sunday November 29 at 11 a.m. (foyer of the Teatro Arena del Sole), each for a maximum of 40 people, with local salumi and Fortana del Taro wine. For 2026 both titles and prices are still marked "to be defined". For reference, the 2025 Zibello masterclass on mariola cost €15 (€10 for children from 10, without wine), was booked by WhatsApp and paid at the November Porc stand.

All month, restaurants in the Strada del Culatello run pork-themed menus under the name "A tavola con November Porc". That is the better meal if you want to sit down, because the tents take no reservations.

The official site gives only motorway directions: the A15 exit Sissa Trecasali for Sissa, Roccabianca, Zibello and Polesine; the A1 exit Fidenza via Soragna; or the A21 exit Castelvetro Piacentino via Busseto. By road from central Parma, Sissa is about 25 km (16 miles, around 35 minutes), Roccabianca about 32 km, Zibello about 37 km and Polesine Parmense about 41 km (about 50 minutes). The organizer publishes camper parking areas but no shuttle or bus service, and we could not confirm a Sunday bus that would get you back to Parma after the 3:30 p.m. rituals. Plan to drive, and plan a driver who is not drinking Fortana. Our car verdict covers the rental arithmetic, and the Bassa day trip page has a route that pairs a fair day with Busseto.

The slogan about fog is only half a joke: the Bassa is known for it in late autumn. Drive the embankment roads in daylight if you can.

A fair weekend is a good time to book a proper culatello tasting nearby. The Spigaroli family's Antica Corte Pallavicina at Polesine has its own culatello cellar, and you can sleep there at the relais. Our culatello tasting page lists the cellar visits you can book, and is culatello worth the price? does the per-kilo arithmetic against prosciutto.

At the fair itself, look for the other Bassa salumi you rarely see elsewhere: spalla cotta of San Secondo, served warm, and the cured spalla cruda of Palasone. Both are on the organizer's product list.

The Bassa has few hotel rooms and we found no published data on fair-weekend prices, so we will not guess. The relais at Antica Corte Pallavicina is the obvious bed near Polesine and Zibello, and it is small: book early. Otherwise stay in Parma and drive out; see where to stay.

Culatello of Zibello Private Tour with Lunch and Farm Visit

Only 6 reviews. Meets at Avis, Largo Maestà del Taglio, Parma, or pickup within 15 km. Not for vegetarians; minimum two.

5 hours

5.0★★★★★★★★★★(6 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on Viator

Booking through these links supports this site at no cost to you. Prices move by date, so we do not print them here; the official prices we checked are in the page above.