Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli (7 September 1791 – 21 December 1863 / Rome)

Dio doppo avé creato in pochi giorni
Quello che c'è de bello e c'é de brutto,
In paradiso o in de li su' contorni
Creò un rampino e ciattaccò un presciutto.

E disse: "Quella femmina che in tutto
Er tempo che campò nun messe corni,
N'abbi una fetta, acciò non magni asciutto
Er pandecèlo de li nostri forni".

Morze Eva, morze Lia, morze Ribbecca,
Fino inzomma a ttu' moje a man'a mano,
Morzeno tutte, e ppijele a l'inzecca.

E ttutte quante cor cortello in mano
Quando furno a ttajà feceno cecca:
Sò sseimil'anni, e quer presciutto è sano.


English

After having created in a few days
What is good and what is not, God
Created in heaven, or in its whereabouts,
A hook, and hung a piece of ham to it.

He said: "The woman who during her whole life
Has not been unfaithful to her husband
Will receive a slice, to be eaten with
The heavenly bread of our bakehouse".

Eve died, Leah died, Rebecca died [2] ,
Little by little, up to your wife,
All of them passed away, every single one.

And each of them, knife in hand,
when it was their turn to slice it, failed:
After six thousand years that piece of ham is untouched.