Vicenza is known throughout the world as the city of gold. Very true, but Vicenza and its province offer many other treasures, such as Palladio's beautiful villas and many fine culinary delights. Among these delicacies, the Soprèssa Vicentina DOP stands out: a tasty, fragrant and soft salume, almost crumbly in texture. In Montecchio Maggiore, among the hills that connect Vicenza and Verona, we discovered an artisan salumificio called «Dei Castelli», named in honour of the nearby castles of Romeo and Giulietta. The Fantin family founded this salumificio in 1998, and ever since has dedicated itself with total passion and the most scrupulous care to the production of salumi typical of the area, following recipes handed down from rural tradition. Besides the quality of the meats, essential to the particular softness of the Soppressa Vicentina DOP is the skilful balance between humidity and curing temperature: this is why, in the past, farmers used to hang the soppresse to dry over a fireplace during the initial curing stage. Today, at Salumificio dei Castelli, a more technological system is used (also because there's certainly no room in the company for 100 fireplaces!), but the final result is practically the same. The meats are strictly Italian and of top quality: to be clear, they come only from the «Parma e San Daniele» supply chain. The careful sectioning, the choice of the most suitable cuts for the various products, the combination with salt and spices, the processing and the curing all make the Soppressa Vicentina DOP by Salumificio dei Castelli a truly delicious product of outstanding quality. All the products are also listed in the AIC (Associazione Italiana Celiachia) food guide.