UN VERO MACELLO
  literal = "a real slaughterhouse"
  figurative = "a fine mess"

La Fattoria di Marino Rosia (near Siena)
28 Febbraio 2004

Domenico has been a macellaio (butcher) since 1954. I asked him how many pigs he'd killed in his life. He never answered. His assistant (Sabatino) later told me it was more than ten thousand.

<-- "la scrofa" or "la troia"

PORCA TROIA
  literal = dirty sow
  figurative = filthy whore

<-- il sangue (blood)

This sow is a "Cinta Senese," an historic breed that nearly went extinct (people's tastes changed and this pig's high fat content was no longer valued). The Cinta Senese was only saved after a special government agency called "Il Corpo Forestale" stepped in five years ago and began breeding them.

<-- le budella (intestine)
<-- la pancia (stomach)
<-- la ascia (axe)
<-- il coltello (knife)
<-- la fattoria (farm)

<-- i maiali (the other pigs):

Confusione
Paura
Tristezza
Fame

(7:43 AM)	Domenico shoots the sow in the head.
(7:49 AM)	Hooks are placed through the animal's hindlegs and it's hoisted off the ground.
(7:50 AM)	A knife severs the jugular vein and steaming hot blood pumps out (the sow's heart is still beating).
(8:04 AM)	The sow is lowered onto a rack.
(8:06 AM)	Pots of boling water are poured over the sow's body and a knife is used to scrape off all the hair.
(9:15 AM)	The sow is raised up by its hindlegs and opened with a single cut from the anus to the throat.
(9:25 AM)	The intestines will be cleaned with water and used tomorrow as the casing for making salsiccie.
(9:47 AM)	When Domenico opens the sow, the other pigs becomes visibly agitated. Their squeals are deafening. But what I mistake for terror, is actually anticipation. Domenico eventually opens the sow's stomach (la pancia) and pours its contents into the pigpen. They feast upon it.
(9:52 AM)	Once the tongue is cut away from the mouth it is removed in a single section that includes the windpipe, the lungs, the heart, and the liver.
(10:05 AM)	The sow is halved with an axe then quartered.