In 1823, Giorgio Paese decided to move his family from Spezzano della Sila, a small village at the foot of the Sila mountains once called “Spezzanu Ranne”, to Camigliatello Silano, a mountain village in the locality of Guzzolini, 1200 meters above sea level.
Initially the family business was wood cutting but at the beginning of the 20th century Francesco Paese bought the first cows and started the stationary breeding in the mountains, a very difficult business at that time due to cold winters and the total absence of any service; the farmer with his whole family lived above the stable to avoid freezing.
For three generations Paese family members have been working as cow farmers and cheesemakers to produce some of the Calabria’s finest cheeses.
Dairying started in the Paese cheese factory around 1900s to supply the daily needs of the family and with few cheeses sold on a local market. At that time, as still happens today, the cows pasture during the summer while in winter they are kept in a cow-house.
During the years the farm was expanded (thanks to Francesco Paese, the pioneer’s nephew) and the idea to increase the cheese production slowly became a reality. The first cheese factory plant, consisting of a simple wooden barrack, was built close to the farm and became operative in 1985 when a cheesemaker from the village of Longobucco, named “Zu Duminicu”, was hired to processes the milk twice a day. The products were soon appreciate by consumers and the hope for a bigger market pushed us to build a second cheese factory when the first one became old according to the new laws and HACCP standards.
In an effort to improve the production and marketing activities, the second cheese factory became officially operative in 2000 and since 2001 we belong to the “Consorzio Caciocavallo Silano DOP” (Protected Designation of Origin).
Today, Caseificio Paese continues to process and distribute high quality dairy products with a market growing in the whole Italy and abroad.
