Today, October 24, 2014, is National Bologna Day. Bologna is a sausage derived from the Italian mortadella, a similar looking finely ground pork sausage containing cubes of lard, originally from the Italian city of Bologna. U.S. Government regulations require American bologna to be finely ground and without visible pieces of lard. Bologna can alternatively be made out of chicken, turkey, beef, pork, venison or soy protein.