Courage and determination were faithful companions in this journey. Started twenty years ago with the hope and enthusiasm of the youth to support an idea that is not obvious at all and has an unpredictable outcome: to be able to create a future in one's own land.
This dream, more or less conscious, of many guys of the South, as then so today. Easy to think of, but difficult to do and the increasingly depopulation of villages and territories, that has already twisted the demographics of many inland areas, continues to show it. Even in Upper Irpinia, near the lands of Molise with the same problem. But also with the same potential and opportunities for those who know how to capture them. Or, at least, firmly wants to take them, including the risks. Just like Luigi and the two Enza, his wife and his sister, who from the beginning shared the journey with him, without any certainty about the destination or the happy ending.
An intense journey through time, but short in distance, only few kilometers. Around Calitri, the splendid hamlet of which the brothers Luigi and Enza Di Cecca and Enza Fiordellisi are passionate children. They were all just in their twenties, in 2001, when they started from nothing. Or rather, from just the idea that the Di Cecca family business had inspired them, working at the collection of milk in the area of Calitri and surrounding. A part of that milk, until then only transported elsewhere, they decided to keep it for them, in a small laboratory where they began to process it two or three times a week.
An exciting and promising start. So "Il Fienile” was born, their first dairy factory, where production began to grow progressively, together with the spaces dedicated to it. Until there was no longer a way to expand, there. And the new production area, located outside the town, offered another opportunity to continue developing the company.
The Caciocavallos
It’s not just any place where the new generation Di Cecca make cheeses. Calitri and its surroundings are a land renowned for caciocavallo. And on that, from the very beginning they aimed, starting with the milk that inspired them. "We collect the milk in a very specific area, between Calitri, Bisaccia and Aquilonia - explains Enza Fiordellisi - We take it from small stables nearby that we know everything about. It comes from cows that walk the mountains, where they eat more aromatic hay, giving the milk the scents of our pastures ».
A first distinctive element to which others are added by the particularity of the workmanship. Inspired by ancient knowledge, but with the many innovative elements that the young people of Il Fienile have introduced into the production process in these twenty years.
Always taking inspiration from what their country and surrounding offered, because the strong link with the territory was not only the reason for their choice of life, but also the added value of their cheeses that they are committed to protect and improve every day.
From the caves to the clay
Despite the very short supply chain and the simplicity and naturalness of the raw material, there is careful research behind every type of caciocavallo branded Di Cecca. And a good dose of creativity too. Focussed, research and creativity, in the fundamental and very delicate process of aging the caci. At the beginning they started from the traditional method, a technique already used by the Romans, that exploits the constant and ideal temperature and humidity of the caves opening up in the subsoil of the village of Calitri. Over the years, other procedures have been added, each of which gives something specific and particular to the taste of the cheese.
«Try and re-try, we mastered the aging in oak barriques, in the pomace, in the wine and in the hay. Everything from our area. And since a lot of pottery is made in Calitri, we decided to also use clay amphorae, to bind us even more to the territory. We insert the cheeses that we previously treated with local oil and massaged with herbs. Mint, sage and thyme I personally grow in the garden of our farm. Where we produce organic spelt », tells Enza.
The clay suggested another happy intuition and a very original new project: "We experimented for a long time, with master Brancaterra, until we reached what we were looking for - says Enza - And our "stubborn" caciocavallo in raw clay, a natural material that regulates humidity and temperature, allowing the cheese to mature correctly in any environment and without a time limit. And the flavor also enormously benefits from it. So we can keep the caciocavallo in the kitchen, in a nice container to be displayed, where it ages until you decide to consume it. At that point, the clay can be reused as beauty mask or to play with the children ". Simple and ingenious, like the caciocavallo gift box that becomes a cutting board to serve it at the table. "We are keen to find reuse solutions because we want to pollute the least possible".
Naturalness and sustainability
The attention to the environment and to the sustainability of the production cycle in all its phases has been over the years another key element of the choices of the two Enza and Luigi. From the raw materials used to make cheeses to those, always natural, to preserve and package them; from the organic cultivation of the farm to the structures where the business activities take place. For the recent renovation of Il Fienile, the dairy factory of the first years used today for the refining of caciocavallos and hospitality, were used rock wool panels, sheep's wool for insulation, untreated aluminum and even the stones of the old family farm were being recycled, destroyed by an earthquake in the 80’. A valuable project that has also participated in prestigious architecture competitions.
In these years, the Di Cecca family had never enough of the goals achieved. They have always started again, with new projects, ideas, challenges. Aimed to improve and expand the offer of caciocavallos, but also of being a real growth factor for their territory. Where the dairy has been combined with well-kept spaces for sale and for the reception of visitors and travelers. «We like to meet those coming from outside to know our reality - says Enza - to show them how we make cheese and take them to visit the stables where the milk comes from or the caves of Calitri where we refine the caciocavallos. It is an important and stimulating part of our work. We want everything to be out in the open, to be shared. Together with the beauties and peculiarities of our land ».
To her, to that land, twenty years ago, they decided not give up on, the two Enza and Luigi. And probably their greatest success is having created the conditions for the young people to remain. A small, bold microcosm working in the name of the caciocavallo socketed in the High Irpinia.
