Formagella di Scalve
The legendary Formaggella of Val di Scalve
According to a legend, in the 12th century, the daughter of a consul who attended a boarding school in Bergamo, longing for a cheese she had tasted on holiday, drove the local friars nearly mad until they finally found the one she desired. The cheese was thus named “Formaggella della Val di Scalve,” to distinguish it from others that had been brought to her and rejected. (La Cucina Bergamasca – Dizionario Enciclopedico)
Although it is not possible to establish with certainty when this product first appeared, the old dairy farmers of Val di Scalve do not recall any other local cheeses.
In the more recent history of this cheese, it won a silver medal at the 2007 edition of the International Mountain Cheese Olympics, held in Oberstdorf.
But its true success is celebrated every day at the shop of the Latteria Sociale di Scalve by thousands of enthusiastic tasters, who return—or discover for the first time—the unique flavor of this product.