Once upon a time, there was a Festa delle Castagne (Chestnut Festival) in a little town called Trecchina. Chiara - an adventurer eager to explore and discover the hidden treasures within the people of the place - stumbled across a young man with a stand offering piccoli assaggini (little tastes) of cheese!
It was in this moment that Chiara’s mind illuminated with the prospect of offering a cheese experience (one of her most favourite foods) to those who is following along here on these travel escapades today.
I wanted to begin today’s travel escapades just like this because stumbling across Simone and his family’s caseficio (cheese factory) was truly a fairytale…and we haven’t even got to the part when I got to see where they make the cheese!
Buckle up today’s adventures bring us into the rolling hills of Episcopia for a real treat. Let’s do this!
Simone is an exemplary role model of the youth who choose to stay in their hometown and make something great. Not only is Simone heavily involved in supporting his family’s caseficio and moving the business along, he is also a big advocate for his paese (town) Agromonte, right next door to Episcopia and is heavily involved in promoting it, seeking unique and creative ways to keep it bustling with life and injecting new ideas.
After meeting Simone, I immediately reached out to organise our first official meeting to pitch him the concept of Vera Italia. We met up for a coffee and I was so pleased to see his kind and welcoming face beam with hope and excitement for what we could create together.
Chatting away, I like to ask our Culture Creators a whole bunch of questions because you never know what inspiration might strike. Simone mentioned that one of the most difficult aspects of the business was finding shepherds to tend to the animals.
DING! Inspiration struck. "Simone, why don’t we offer an experience where travellers can spend a day as a shepherd to get a taste of what it’s like and who knows, maybe someone might like it so much that they decide they want to pursue it for work?” I said.
He smiled and half laughed at me, surely he was thinking this girl is crazy but then I could tell that this was the glimmer of hope and oomph of inspiration he needed! The caseficio needed. If you’ve ever considered being a shepherd, this is your sign.
You see, while I’m a dream-chasing, journey-making kind of person, this whole concept of Vera Italia was created from my desire to not only realise a little dream of mine - a way to encourage locals to continue their traditions and create a way to sustain and share culture.
It was created to shine a light on these simple yet truly beautiful realities and in some small way, to help others achieve their dreams. I like to think that Vera Italia is a dream-making machine in search of the people who are humbly and wholeheartedly doing their best.
By connecting them with people like you, they will be blessed in what they do with greater possibilities for their futures - that’s the way I’m seeking to run things.
I share their stories with you during these little encounters of ours and I want you to know that even though you may not have had a chance to visit and meet them for yourself, I talk to them about you! I tell them that I’m sharing their stories, talking about our mission and that there are people interested in what they’re doing.
They love knowing that their stories are making their way from the small towns in northern Calabria and the cusps of Basilicata, all the way to you in Australia. It’s awesome!
Picture this, it’s dusk, the sun is setting over the most spectacular mountainous landscape. There are sheep and goats grazing about and an adorable donkey called Rocco who occasionally let out a hee-haw every now and then, to say hello.
We entered the stables and it was so cool to see all the animals and the ambience it created knowing that this is a precious craft that dates back to the most simplest of times. Humble beginnings…
We were studying where to do the interview and of course we couldn’t move past the characteristic hay bale. It’s honestly so surreal finding these incredibly traditional and picturesque settings when we go to capture the Culture Creators.
The best part is that it’s all completely genuine. After the interview, Simone accompanied us into the cheese room and then into the laboratory where his mamma Cristina was preparing the cheese. It was truly beautiful (especially for a cheese lover like me).
At one point, Cristina offered me some of the fresh cheese to try. Needless to say, I was excited! While I wish I could have shared this moment with you and offered you also some cheese to try, I’ll describe it for you by saying there’s video footage of my eyes popping out of my head. It was incredible…and it gets better.
Simone reappeared with their typical product which is an aged cheese made with a mix of sheep and goats’ milk. Our visionary and brilliant videomaker suggested stepping outside to capture this moment of cheesy goodness and as I observed the scene and took a bite of the cheese,
let me tell you, you haven’t eaten cheese until you’re overlooking this spectacular mountain range as the sun is setting and you’re savouring the freshly aged cheese straight from the source. It was truly magic.
So, friend, if you’re reading this and you’re inspired, I highly recommend going to pay Simone a visit and if you’re curious, why not try being a shepherd for a day?
Click here to see his video.
I look forward to sharing the tales of our next Vera Italia Culture Creator. Until then, keep dreaming!
