Muro Leccese : Sagra de lu porcomeu -
Ortelle : Sagra del maiale
These are both food festivals celebrating the excellent quality pork. Only locally bred pork is served, cooked in a varierty of ways - boiled, roasted or cooked with sauce.

At the end of October, delicious roasted pork is prepared with care in two towns in the Salento area. The 'Sagra de lu porcomeu' is held in Muro Leccese, while the 'Sagra del maiale', the 'Pork food festival' takes place in Ortelle.

Both these food festivals originally started because of traditional Salentine autumn fairs when local farmers used to exchange, buy and sell goods, and gather up enough supplies to live through the long winter. This food festival began because, in the past, people from other towns used to arrive the day before the fair and then camp during the night. In the square they often roasted pork to have a good meal and keep warm. This slowly became a tradition.

In 2005, in Ortelle, the 'Maiale Salentino Or.Vi' quality standard was established. Animals must be bred following traditional methods, in order to guarantee hight production and quality levels and preserve the historical and cultural importance of the food sagra. During pork food festivals, you will only taste local meat, since meat from other areas is not allowed.