Lucanica was a rustic pork sausage in ancient Roman cuisine. Apicius documents it as a spicy, smoked beef or pork sausage originally from Lucania;[1] according to Cicero and Martial, it was brought by Roman troops or slaves from Lucania.[2][3]
It has given its name to a variety of sausages (fresh, cured, and smoked) in Mediterranean cuisine and its colonial offshoots, including:
Today, lucanica sausage is identified as Lucanica di Picerno, produced in Basilicata (whose territory was part of the ancient Lucania).[6]