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LATTEBUSCHE PIAVE VECCHI AGED 12 MONTH 15 OZ

 

  

 The course of Piave River

Piave cheese takes its name from the Piave river, whose source is located in Monte Peralba,  Visdende Valley, in the Comelico area, the northernmost part of the Province of Belluno.

The Piave river winds its way to the valley bottom through the Cadore area first and then through the basin between Belluno and Feltre. There, the river flows more slowly until it meets the lowlands in the Province of Treviso, at the toe of the Venetian Prealps.

No other name could possibly identify the most important typical Belluno cheese better than Piave: a cheese borne of the dairy tradition of the land through which this ancient river flows lengthwise and where the milk used to produce it is collected. Starting in the late nineteenth century, when modern industry began to grow in all major Central European countries, the Belluno area --just like many other mountain areas-- was hit by a serious slump that prompted people to emigrate and caused the depopulation of the territory.

To face this mass exodus and the dramatic social and economic degradation resulting from it, a brand-new way to jointly manage the few resources produced by dairy cattle farming was created at the initiative of parish priest Father Antonio Della Lucia in the town of Canale d'Agordo located in a valley near Belluno. It was the year 1872. Known as "kasel" in the local dialect, or "shift creamery" in plain language, this was the first dairy cooperative run by its own members to be established in the newly established Kingdom of Italy.


A "shift" creamery

The idea of uniting all the owners of small dairy farms in a town to process milk "in shifts" at a single creamery became very popular in every small urban center throughout the Belluno mountains during those difficult years. The major advantages offered by this cooperatives were lower production costs and higher profits. Indeed, they made a strong contribution to the birth of local dairy traditions and were a valid work alternative to a dramatic future of emigration. As time went by, and particularly after Second World War when many social and economic developments took place, a large number of these small businesses went through a critical period and was eventually forced to shut down. Today, in many towns throughout the Belluno mountains you can still find memories of those pioneer dairy cooperatives that produced butter, fresh cheese with a strong milk taste called "creamery cheese", and cooked-curd cheese to be ripened for short or medium periods.

 

In other cases, local dairy farmers reacted and joined together. They extended the membership in the cooperative by accepting also farmers from nearby towns and established larger cooperative creameries, capable of facing the market unbalance between mountain and valley agriculture with more strength.

Today in Belluno, these cooperatives, together with other facilities such as alpine huts ("maiolere" in local dialect"), represent the vehicle in charge of transmitting ancient cheesemaking rules that are strictly applied in the production of typical cheese. And not only that. The social and economical importance of these businesses is unquestionable.

In this way, the production of the typical cheese that was later given the name "Piave" has been passed down from generation to generation.

 

The production of the first cheeses under the name "Piave" dates back to 1960. At that time, it was produced in limited quantities in shift creameries and was known only in its area of origin.

Certain historical documents confirm the origin of this traditional cheese. For example, an article published in "L'agricoltura Bellunese", a monthly journal, on June 6 1966 tells that "Out of the 100 quintals (22,000 lbs) of milk given by dairy farmers to the Latteria della Vallata Feltrina, a third is used to produce Piave and Fior di Latte cheese".

 

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