Rigamonti Salumificio SpA, founded by Francesco Rigamonti in 1913, is nowadays the undisputed market leader in the production of bresaola (dry-cured beef).

   Francesco Rigamonti was then the owner of a delicatessen-butcher's shop in the historical centre of Sondrio where bresaola, the most ancient symbol of Valtellina, was prepared according to the original recipe typical of this Alpine valley.

   In the early twentieth century, tourists visited Bormio and the 'Magnifica Terra' (the Magnificent Land) attracted by the wholesome air and the beauty of the places. Once in Sondrio, the fundamental stopping place for commerce and tourism, many foreign tourists could not lose the opportunity to pay a visit to the Rigamonti shop, where the owner warmly welcomed his customers, making them taste bresaola, the fruit of his great passion, that in this way crossed the boundaries of Valtellina.

   It was in 1928 that the bresaola market expanded significantly

after bresaola was exhibited at the 'Grande Fiera Campionaria' (Great Trade Fair) in Milan. This very successful event was the first step towards large-scale marketing thus bringing bresaola to the well-deserved international attention. Giovanni and Emilio Rigamonti inherited the family business in the late Fifties and made their father's dream come true: as a real pioneer at the beginning of the century he had already perceived the sales potential of this product.

   Hence the first production plant, today seat of the company, in Montagna in Valtellina followed by a second production site in Poggiridenti in the Seventies and a third one in Mazzo di Valtellina in 1986.

   Nowadays Rigamonti Salumificio SpA, that will celebrate its hundredth anniversary in 2013 and is strategically linked to the Brazilian group JBS SA (the world market leader in the production of animal proteins), has a turnover of EUR 130 million and is exporting bresaola to 16 countries in the world.