A bit of simple etiology was offered by a really competent friend of ours who told us in truly affectionate tones, about the generous character and exquisite meat of a breed of pigs, the secular pride of Siena and the Chianti, the ‘Cinta’ (this word is found in several Tuscan dialects meaning belt or collar), that is, a pig with fine loins, whose pure breed is preserved by a few breeders with the same attention with which the proud inhabitants of the city of the Palio preserve the standards of their ‘contrade’. The ‘cinta’ is a much lighter animal than most of its breed and still sufficiently Gild to require fairly extensive spaces in which to move freely. It has the long, fierce snout of the wild boar with which it shares an obvious kinship and compensates all this attention by sacrificing itself for the pleasure of us humans in savoury dishes, ham and salami with a special taste of wild game. It belonged to an ancient breed, a very ancient one. In a masterpiece of early Tuscan art, can be seen an example of the prize pig climbing up a low rock, followed by a young peasant. It belongs to the fine cycle of frescoes entitled The Effects of Good and Bad Governance that Ambrogio Lorenzetti painted in an affectionate and reliable style in the ‘Sala dei Nove’ of the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena from 1337-1339.
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See also:

Preserving Chianti Homemade Cooking, Culinary Vacation in Chianti, The Most Famous Butcher of Chianti in Panzano, Chianti Cooking: The Origins, The Most Famous Butcher of Chianti in Panzano, Chianti Sheep and Pecorino Cheese, San Felice Chef: Antonio Fallini

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