From the difficult survival of Bitto a podcast to enhance 'A mountain of cheeses'

Bitto and Casera are the two iconic cheeses of Valtellina. They have linked histories (also united by a single protection consortium) that reflect the 'double life' of the mountain farmers and shepherds and their cows: in the stables next to the houses in the village in winter and in the mountain huts, on the pastures of fresh grass, in summer. Two different identities that give rise to two cheeses that are in many ways complementary, but which now, in a certain sense, see their destinies increasingly diverging. The two PDO productions have a production value of 16.3 million euro (+2.8% per year), against 248,946 branded cheeses. But the average is the result of very different trends.

The Casera is a semi-fat dairy cheese now produced all year round in the valley and is progressively conquering the Italian consumers (gradually leaving the Lombardy borders): over 236 thousand (+6.7%) cheeses branded in 2025 to which is added a +10% in the 4 first months of 2026.

Bitto, which can age for up to 10 years and offer numerous and rich nuances of taste, is produced in summer in mountain pastures between 1,400 and 2,300 metres above sea level, only in some areas of the province of Sondrio and in the valleys that 'encroach' into the province of Lecco or some municipalities of the Brembana Valley: two milkings a day, at dawn and at dusk and processing on site, every day and in all weathers, make it a precious product 'from another era'. It is a job that can be very satisfying, but certainly tiring and often thankless: the 12,857 cheeses produced in the summer of 2025 by 45 producers (including ripeners) are down 16.7% in volume and 16% in value.

"After the 24.1 per cent growth recorded in 2024, the downturn is linked to seasonal trends and the duration of the alpine pastures," explainsCTCB Consortium President Marco Deghi, "but also to the very complexity of production. Bitto is a unique cheese that requires extremely demanding work. There is the knot of generational change: today there are 45 producers/ripeners, compared to 56 in 2018. Alongside those who choose to leave the business, however, there are young people who decide to take up the family legacy, bringing innovation and new skills, and others who return to their roots after different experiences. In this context, the Consortium continues to strengthen its support for alpine dairy farmers, focusing on quality as a lever to guarantee better remuneration for the product and give continuity to a heroic mountain cheese. A dedicated technical assistance programme has been activated, with specialised professionals supporting producers in all phases of processing in the mountain pastures. The aim is to continue investing in the quality and promotion of Bitto among consumers. Only through a greater awareness of the value of the product and its adequate economic valorisation is it possible to preserve a product that represents a cultural, economic and identity heritage of our mountains'.

This is also why 'A Mountain of Cheese Valtellina Casera and Bitto, Stories of PDOs' was born, 'a choral and contemporary tale in the double guise of ebook and podcast that aims to restore the work, memory and value of one of the most identity-rich dairy supply chains in the Lombardy Alpine arc,' say the promoters.
The project revolves around 11 emblematic stories of two strongly identifiable products from the Valley so much loved by Mario Soldati ("Who has never been to Valtellina should go there. And go there now!" he said in his travel reportage Vino al vino), and now recounted by journalists Marco Bolasco and Eugenio Signoroni. The book and podcast - five episodes online from 20 May, one a week - can be downloaded free of charge on the major streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Amazon Music) and, later, on the Consorzio website www.ctcb.it.