List of products by brand Azienda Agricola Bettella

The History of the Bettella Agricultural Company

"The Crazy Dream of Grandpa Angelo's Grandchildren Becomes Reality"

In the 1950s, the Bettella Agricultural Company was one of the largest in the province of Cremona, with 150 dairy cows and a poultry farm of 100,000 laying hens. But the real breakthrough came in the 1970s with the Bettella brothers, Giuseppe and Mario, who already envisioned pig farming as a possible future for the company. The idea was bold: to raise pigs for two years, cure hams for over five, and produce other high-quality cured meats, using nearly all parts of the pig as was traditionally done. As the saying goes, "when madness becomes genius, it's a stroke of luck."

"The idea matured over time, since the 1970s, with my cousin, a passionate gourmet; it became a reality in 2010, despite knowing it was a challenge outside the market, almost nonsensical. In short, at that time, we weren't thinking about profit. We had a pig farm, and I had been producing feed on the farm for some time, studying how nutrition could impact the quality and taste of the meat."

Stefano Bettella

The Maiale Tranquillo®

"Tell me what the pig eats, and I'll tell you what it is"

The Maiale Tranquillo®, a registered trademark, was created to provide a clear name and identity to a 100% sustainable philosophy. The farmers follow the animal's natural rhythms, allowing it to move freely and go outside. They use specific genetics to produce a "super-heavy Po Valley pig" that supplies healthy, abundant fat for curing. As for the pigs' diet, Bettella doesn't just feed them anything but is committed to providing simple raw materials, mostly grown on the company's 180 hectares and dried on-site. If a pig is what it eats, then these pigs must be true "gourmets."

"From the Maiale Tranquillo® to the Table: The Journey of an Artisanal Salami"

But that's not all, because Bettella doesn't stop there. Each type of cured meat receives specific care depending on its destination and, above all, the region to which it is best suited, such as Cremonese salami, nostrano salami, culatello, pancetta, and much more. In essence, a Bettella cured meat is like a fine wine: the product of an evolution that begins with the animal's very birth and is then carefully and passionately tended to by small-scale artisans.

Ultimately, Bettella teaches us that to succeed, one shouldn't just follow the usual patterns. Instead, it's crucial to have the right balance of creativity and intuition to recognize where opportunities may lie. If that opportunity involves producing the highest-quality cured meats, well, then it becomes truly difficult to resist.