Cheesemaking in La Porta dei Parchi, Abruzzo

Castello di Rocca Calascio 1" by Angelo Casto is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Amazing landscapes spanning spectacular peaks to pristine valleys and sandy beaches, incredible artistic treasures and enchanting hamlets, breathtaking views that often served as impressive natural movie sets (think the ruined castle of Rocca Calascio, where an epic scene of the Medieval fantasy film Ladyhawke was filmed in 1985) and relaxing ‘hoods: this is what can be expected from one of the most underrated regions of Italy, Abruzzo. Yet, we rank food amongst the top reasons why the central region should be included in every trip plan to Italy. The regional cuisine that excitingly matches surf and turf, often served at incredibly reasonable prices rarely disappoints. Credit goes to talented cooks, of course, as well as to great ingredients: tasty meats (lamb is king, here), fresh fish, heritage greens, and beans. And, most of all, gorgeous cheeses.

Ode to the cheese

Playing a vital role in a region where mountains cover over 65% of the territory, cow and (mainly) sheep breeding has long represented an essential asset, and transforming milk into cheese was a precious way not to waste it while the animals were in high-altitude pastures or moved from summer mountain pastures to the lowlands. Today, we still benefit from this ancient know-how, now combined with modern sustainable farming practices that ensure the preservation of the environment and the production of high-quality, flavorful cheeses.

To taste some of the best cheese in Abruzzo – or, more accurately, to see where they are made, since they can be found in many well-furnished cheese shops and delis all over Italy, and even in the US thanks to a family-related business, Marcelli Formaggi importing farmstead cheese and specialty food products from Abruzzo – you’ll have to explore one of the most remote areas of the region, not too far from the elegant city of L’Aquila, which is finally resurrecting from the disastrous earthquake of 2006.

Agriculture is almost impossible in the highest part of the central Apennine massif, a remote and marginal mountain area. Population density is very low here, fostering incredible biodiversity and allowing a notable concentration of protected areas, including three national parks. As wonderful as it sounds, this also implies a challenging environment where predators such as wolves and bears rightfully live. Close to the spectacular Sagittario Gorges, Anversa degli Abruzzi is a lovely hamlet still bearing witness to a glorious medieval past in its elegant churches and front gates. Yet, its narrow streets had gone almost completely silent until a few decades ago. Just like many other rural and mountain villages of Central Italy, depopulation hit hard here: over the 20th century, when many families emigrated after the World wars and, lately, young people moved to the cities to find jobs and an easier life, the population fell from about 200 inhabitants to the current just over 200 inhabitants. And it would be even less, by now, if it hadn’t been for the cheese.

La Porta dei Parchi, a door to milky pleasure

Gole del Sagittario, Anversa degli Abruzzi by Fabio Ciminelli is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

“When I first came here from Tuscany in 1982, in Anversa, there were no accommodations and no places to eat, apart from a small grocery shop. Today, besides the rooms of our “scattered country house," there are five restaurants (including the rustic and lovely La Fiaccola, also serving their cheese), and many people visit the village all year round," Manuela Cozzi explains. "Nowadays, luxury is more and more related to something we can't buy: clean air, peace, silence. So, we are full of luxury here!" Born in Prato, Tuscany, and working at Florence University after her graduation in Agricultural Science, Cozzi came here to study the local medicinal herbs: “I found over 120 different varieties in one single square meter! I was astonished by this incredible biodiversity, resulting in an extraordinary milk quality.” Nunzio Marcelli was well aware of this, too. He owned the land where Monica had to carry on her research. Born in Abruzzo and with a degree in agricultural economy, Marcelli had started a sheep farming project to enhance these marginal areas and create jobs and economy, drawing inspiration from the ancient traditions of neighboring areas. They have been working together since then, leading the ASCA cooperative project and the Porta dei Parchi (literally, Door to Parks) farm holiday facility, currently including ten or so apartments in Anversa, turned from abandoned houses to cozy accommodations. And today, their daughter Viola – who initially left to study design in Florence – is the company dairywoman, matching her creativity with passion. She is not the only one who made such a choice: the farm employs around 20 people, many of them young and coming from other regions and big cities, to find a different, more ethical, and sustainable lifestyle in the small village of Abruzzo.

Great cheeses from sheep’s milk

Today, ASCA breeds around 1,500 sheep and goats in a semi-wild state, moving them over around 3,000 acres, mostly rented from public institutions and at different elevations, spanning from the valley where the Sagittario River runs to Anversa degli Abruzzi where the farm is (about 700 meters above sea level) up to the highest mountains, constantly granting the herds green and rich pastures.

They primarily transform raw sheep milk, to preserve its nutrients and flavors. Also thanks to Viola’s inventiveness, they make over 30 different cheeses, mostly from sheep milk. The most awarded – and delicious – probably is the ricottina (a small shape of semi-matured ricotta) gently smoked with natural juniper wood, which also comes with natural flavorings such as chili, rosemary, chives, or cumin. Sonetto is a soft sheep milk cheese, similar to Taleggio and rich with herbs’ scents. Their Muffato (literally, molded) is a very interesting blue cheese from sheep milk, born from an exchange program with nomadic breeders of Afghanistan, where Nunzio Marcelli traveled between 2004 and 2007 to teach them the art of cheese, while Brigantaccio is a tangy, lovely hard cheese that matures for two years plunged in its own whey, and is finally dried under bran to absorb the excess moisture.

Goat cheese is mainly made in Spring when the animals give birth. However, in Winter, they still make Cacio Morra, a tasty mixed-milk cheese (sheep and goat)inspired by the local habit of sharing milk from different families and herds to survive harsh times.

You Don't Live On Cheese Alone

Viola Marcelli, Manuela Cozzi and Jacopo Marcelli

Matching a deep passion for rural life and Abruzzo, an ethical vision, and a skilled entrepreneurial approach, over the decades, Cozzi and Marcelli built up a multifunctional company aimed at increasing revenues – to reward and attracting employees – and fostering the local community through food culture and hospitality. They established many other activities besides the country house with a rustic and cozy restaurant and the village apartments. They decided to complete the sheep supply chain, adding to butchery and dairy also wool production and processing, making and selling beautiful blankets; they host students from all over Italy and abroad – including the US, for example, from the Loyola University Chicago – to teach them not only breeding and farming but a different approach to life and nature, ending up to prefer a bench overlooking the mountains to television; they organize cheese making and cooking classes; they established local associations, such as the regional Sheep and Goat Breeders association and the Parco Produce consortium, to sell the products of the several members; they also breed around 50 dogs of the local breed Pastore Abruzzese (Abruzzese Sheepdog), a loyal and efficient watchdog essential to protect the herds from the wolves. Yet probably the most successful one is their “Adopt a sheep, defend nature” initiative. Primarily aimed at conscious consumers interested in preserving nature and food lovers who back Community Supported Agriculture, it allows to “adopt” one or more animals at a distance, paying maintenance and breeding costs; the reward is not only in receiving products (with omnivore or vegetarian options, including extra virgin olive oil or hospitality vouchers) but also in contributing to the safeguard of the territory and of a millenary culture at risk. “ We do care a lot about letting people understand what it means a transhumant breeding," Cozzi explains, "and our pride in safeguarding our environment, even if it means we have to sacrifice a few heads from time to time, respecting the natural balance of nature in this land."