CHEESE LAB
Three days of business, taste and spectacle.
Friday 25/9
50 years of excellence: the authentic taste of Valle Taleggio
Valentina Bergamin, Alvaro Ravasio e Flaminio Locatelli (Cooperativa Sant’Antonio)
Friday 25/9
Leonardo’s cheese – a journey into the Terre del Giarolo
Matteo Grattone (Terre del Giarolo)
Venerdì 25/9
Quattro Portoni, a new chapter – buffalo milk beyond mozzarella
Marco Bergamelli (4 Portoni)
Friday 25/9
The cheese that rebels against time – vintages of Storico Ribelle
Paolo Ciapparelli (Storico Ribelle)
Saturday 26/9
In Goat We Trust – Resegone told through goat’s milk
Chiara Ferrari (Azienda Agricola Deviscio)
Saturday 26/9
At 2,116 meters – the organic alpine pasture of Agneda
Andrea Agneda (Azienda Agricola Agneda)
Saturday 26/9
Sensory Journey Through the Swiss Valleys
Valentina Bergamin (Formaggi dalla Svizzera)
Saturday 26/9
The time of Silter – from the mountain huts of Case di Viso to Val Camonica
Andrea Bezzi (Azienda Agricola Bezzi)
Saturday 26/9
Cheese Breeders – four mountains, one cellar since 1876
Pedro Domenghini (Guffanti)
Saturday 26/9
Between Milk and Moscato – La Via Lattea meets Biava
Lorenzo Fachetti (La Via Lattea)
Saturday 26/9
Valtellina in four agings – the time of Casera and Alta Quota
Christian (Latteria di Chiuro)
Saturday 26/9
Borders of milk – alpine excellence from the Ticino Alps
Leonardo Drayer (Cetra)
Saturday 26/9
Lombardy in four rinds – from Quartirolo to great blue cheeses
Marco Colonna (Arrigoni Battista)
Sunday 27/9
Queijo, Café e Saudade – Brazil as told by Doca
Queren Ghirardi (Doca)
Sunday 27/9
Great Cheeses and Great Balsamic Vinegars: Excellence Meets Excellence
Valentina Bergamin e relatore Giusti (Disalp & Giusti)
Sunday 27/9
From the lake to the wheel – Rogeno’s milk between stretched curd and aging
Francesca Dassogno e Riccardo Martone (Fattoria Dassogno)
Sunday 27/9
The Gem of Parma
Serena Peveri / Filippo Peveri (Ciao Latte Farm)
Sunday 27/9
Heart and Mind in Rezzo – the Ligurian Alps agri-fermentery
Giulia Zappa e Roberto Martini (Agrifermenteria Cornus)
Sunday 27/9
One hundred and twenty days in the mountain hut – Ardiva’s summer on Mount Corno
Davide Nicoli e Silvia Pozzato (Ardiva – Malga Serona)
Sunday 27/9
Guardians of Cabannina – pasture cheeses in the Parma Apennines
Giulia Rubertelli e Simone Andrei (Amamaja)
THE CALÈCC MEETS THE WORLD CHEESE CAPITAL EVENTS
The Calècc is a highly emblematic structure, embodying the specific system of pasture use and milk processing found on the alpine pastures of the western Orobie Alps. Regarded as a symbol of dairy tradition’s resilience, one that holds on to even the most archaic elements of the craft, the calècc—though not yet entirely abandoned—now risks becoming a mere archaeological relic. It could be described as a “dairy hut” (4 x 5 m in floor plan), built from a dry-stone wall 1-1.5 m high with no fixed roof. Its covering consists of a waterproof tarpaulin, supported by poles—two driven into the ground and one horizontal beam resting on them—and anchored to the wall with ropes. On fine-weather days, the tarpaulin is partly removed to let out the smoke produced by the fire used to heat the milk.
Each alpine pasture station had several calècc, but only one was used each year. The stations were nevertheless numerous, and using the calècc required frequent, labor-intensive moves of all the equipment, starting with the copper cauldron, as well as of the roofing boards. In rainy or windy weather, working the milk and staying inside the calècc became particularly uncomfortable. The calècc are regarded as the emblem of alpine dairying in the Bitto valley and surrounding areas (Tartano, Lesina, Brembana, and Varrone valleys). With the exception of the upper Varrone valley, no functioning calècc remain outside the Bitto valley.
THE EVENTS
IL CALÈCC
Curated by Regione Lombardia
Saturday, September 26 | 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM
Sunday, September 27 | 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM
Piazza Vecchia – Upper Town (Città Alta), Bergamo
Crafting Milk – Free Cheesemaking Workshops
Stanga Agricultural Institute
A cheesemaking workshop that transforms the calècc (a traditional open-air shelter) into a mini dairy. Adults and children can experience firsthand how milk turns into cheese, following every step of the process.
Free activity, open to all ages.
Saturday, September 26 | 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM
Sunday, September 27 | 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM
Piazza Vecchia – Upper Town (Città Alta), Bergamo
Il Pirlì – Traditional Bergamo Game
Pirlì Gaming Community (L’Innesto Social Cooperative ONLUS)
From ages 3 to 99, visitors can try their hand alongside the creators at the traditional game of Pirlì. Rediscovered in 1999 and promoted by the L’Innesto Social Cooperative ONLUS—which became its custodian through the Pirlì Gaming Community—it is part of the TOCATÍ program for the safeguarding of traditional games and sports. Since 2022, Pirlì has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Register of Good Safeguarding Practices for Intangible Cultural Heritage. An heir to the ancient spinning top and ancestor to pinball, the game weaves together food and wine culture, education, and social innovation. For the 2025 edition, students from the AFP Patronato San Vincenzo institutes created “Il Topolì, the Pirlì of the 9 PDO Bergamo Cheeses,” a game board where cheeses serve as narrative elements of play.
Free activity, ages 3 to 99.
Saturday, September 26: 12:00 – 12:30 PM | 12:30 – 1:00 PM | 2:00 – 2:30 PM | 2:30 – 3:00 PM | 5:00 – 5:30 PM | 5:30 – 6:00 PM | 6:00 – 6:30 PM | 6:30 – 7:00 PM
Sunday, September 27: 12:00 – 12:30 PM | 12:30 – 1:00 PM | 2:00 – 2:30 PM | 2:30 – 3:00 PM | 5:00 – 5:30 PM | 5:30 – 6:00 PM |
6:00 – 6:30 PM
Each masterclass lasts approximately 30 minutes.
Local Excellence in wcc
How to Participate
Free admission. Sign up on-site at the Info Point in the Torre, Piazza Vecchia.
Event Description
A guided tasting experience, dynamic and accessible to all, set within the striking backdrop of the Calècc in Piazza Vecchia. An event designed to explore the perfect meeting point between dairy tradition and local winemaking excellence, a short but intense sensory journey that showcases local production through the ideal pairing of selected cheeses and the notes of Valcalepio wines.
Tasting Path
- Selection of four excellent local cheeses
- Bread from Davide Longoni’s mill – Pane Terra
Wine / Winery Pairing
Consorzio Tutela Valcalepio
What is World Cheese Capital
Cheese excellence from around the world, in its capital.
Born in 2015 to celebrate the art of cheesemaking, this journey now takes its most ambitious step yet. Strengthened by its recognition within the UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy network, Bergamo officially becomes the World Cheese Capital, a new international format created to establish Italy’s role as a global reference point in cheese culture.
The city draws in the excellence of the sector, establishing itself as its natural stage. By hosting the winners of the world’s leading competitions and forging partnerships with the most authoritative international organisations, Bergamo positions itself as the definitive cultural hub of the industry.
Among the historic squares of Città Alta and the deep-rooted heritage of the Orobic Cheese Valleys, the prestige of global production finds its full legitimacy, elevating professional expertise into a universal language.
World Cheese Capital thus becomes the event of belonging, where every leading figure in the industry stops being a guest and, at last, finds themselves at home.
A great collective story for consumers and cheese lovers alike. Exhibitions, markets, workshops and experiential trails in the heart of Città Alta, raising public awareness of the importance of the supply chain, from pasture to table.
