Norcia

Norcia's butchers were known across Italy for curing pork, and the word norcineria still means a pork butcher's shop anywhere in the country, while norcino means the trade itself. Cold winters and mountain air suited curing, and the shops sell prosciutto, capocollo, sausages and the whole-loin lonza, hung in windows alongside wild boar. Black truffles from the surrounding Valnerina and Sibillini are the other trade, with a fair in late February. Norcia is also Benedict's birthplace. The town was badly damaged by earthquakes in 2016, when the basilica of St Benedict collapsed; rebuilding continues and much of the centre is still under works.

What you actually see

• The norcinerie - pork butchers whose trade name became a common word.
• The black truffles - gathered in the surrounding mountains, with a February fair.
• The walls - the town's circuit around a compact centre.
• The rebuilding - reconstruction after the 2016 earthquakes, still under way.

When to go

May to October; the black truffle fair is in late February. Winters are cold at this altitude. Check what is open, as reconstruction affects the centre.

Honest expectations

Much of the historic centre remains damaged or under scaffolding, and the basilica is a rebuilding site. Some shops operate from temporary structures.

Nearby

Castelluccio lies above; the Valnerina runs west.