Fog lifting

Saturday: still, 95% relative humidity. 2C

It was colder and fogbound in the valley. I went to the supermarket in Bibbiena to grab wine and one of the Coop’s Christmas boxes of assorted Xmas goodness. It includes the famous cotechino- now a plastic wrapped loose irk sausage.

Originally it was chopped pork and fat in a deboned pig’s trotter. Layer coming home I heard on the radio that the tradition came from the winter slaughter of a peasant family’s pig on December 13th (other dates may be applicable). The cotechino was the first ‘preserved’ meat to be eaten at Christmas, traditionally with lentils. The rest of the pig went to salami and ham and pressed meats.

I stopped in Poppi as the fog was lifting. The sudden reveal of sun and blue sky is so dramatic and mesmerising.