Italy is one of the world’s most productive cheese regions, rivaling French cheeses in variety. DOP Italian cheeses (cheeses with the protected destination of origin) produced in the region of Piedmont include Bra (named after the town where it originates from), Castelmagno, Gorgonzola, Grana Padano, Murazzano, Raschera, Toma Piemontese, and Taleggio. Now wonder that Piedmont hosts one of the most famous cheese festivals in Europe and arguably in the world.
The Bra Cheese Festival features artisanal cheese makers from across the world and attracts more than 250,000 visitors over three days. Attendees can sample several hundred cheeses from Italy, France, Switzerland, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and other countries. For example, the 2015 festival featured more than 300 exhibitors from 25 countries.
The festival takes place in the streets, squares and courtyards in the historic center of Bra. The festival area features several sections, including the Cheese Market, the Great Hall of Cheese, the Biodiversity House, the Natural Aria, the Enoteca, the Taste Library, Street Kitchens, the Beer Piazza, the Pizza Piazza, and more. Entry to the Bra Cheese Festival is free, but there are ticketed events, such as Cooking Schools, Taste Workshops, and Dinner Dates. Some events are held in the village of Pollenzo located six kilometers from Bra.
The Italian and International Cheese Market offers the very finest cheeses that cheese makers, cheese mongers, shepherds and affinieurs from Italy and abroad have to offer. Besides cheese and dairy products, visitors can also sample and buy preserves, jams and honeys to go with them. Food and drink vendors offer delicious street foods and craft beers.
Alongside the market, Cheese offers about several dozen Taste Workshops, Dinner Dates featuring renowned Italian and international chefs, conferences and meetings at the Biodiversity House, and other exciting events and activities. All of them contribute to supporting high quality artisan products and the biodiversity of breeds, as well as promoting raw milk and natural ingredients.
