Today

Bologna is a large, highly seasoned sausage named for Bologna, Italy. The true Italian sausage from Bologna is actually called Mortadella, which is the original bologna. This very large smoked sausage (usually pork) was studded with cubes of pork fat, peppercorns and/or pistachios and/or green olives. Mortadella probably dates back to the 15th century, and the original recipes included myrtle, 'mortella' in Italian, hence the name.

American bologna (boloney) is considered by some as a very poor imitation, however Americans eat 800 million pounds of bologna annually, usually made into thin slices for sandwiches.