Angelo and Lorenzo Orchi are the heirs of a centuries-old tradition called Norcineria Orchi, namely a pork-butchery dating back to 1829.
A vast territory and many farms brought to Tolfa seasonal workers from all the cities of the Papal State. The so-called marri (people from the Marche region), who carried out mainly agricultural activities, flocked here during the summer for harvesting and threshing. On the other hand, pork-butchers arrived in winter for slaughtering the wild pigs of the large oak and chestnut forests of the area.
Egidio Orchi moved from his native Norcia to Tolfa in 1829. Because of his beautiful hair, he was nicknamed Riccio (meaning ‘curl’), a nickname that has been handed down from father to son until the present days. At the beginning, the business of Egidio Orchi and his son Francesco (Checchino) was nomadic. In 1889, they opened their first shop in Via Lizzera, now via Roma, and began to slaughter their own pigs, without giving up to their nomadic business. The current shop was opened in 1924 by Checchino Orchi and his son Lorenzo in a 17th-century building at 5 Via del Bagno overlooking the square Piazza Vecchia, which at that time was the very heart of the town. In addition to processing fresh, seasoned and cooked pork, as well as the popular porchetta, Lorenzo Orchi became a specialist in cheese production. In 1929, he earned a Diploma and a plaque of honour from Comitato Italiano di Propaganda Agricola industriale e Commerciale [Italian Committee for Industrial, Commercial, and Agricultural Propaganda].
Francesco, Lorenzo’s son, continued his father’s business, and now that he has retired, he has passed the baton to his sons Angelo and Lorenzo. The pork-butchery has been recently renovated to ensure maximum hygiene standards, while production is still farm-based, following the methods handed down from father to son for five generations, and using many of the plants that grow wild in the Mediterranean spots of the territory of Tolfa to flavour the meat.
