Hands clasped firmly behind his back, with the beady vigilance of a parade-ground sergeant major, Alessandro Ferrarini strides among his massed ranks of cheese.
Several thousand recruits are lined up. Evenly spaced and immaculately presented, they stand on rows of shelves reaching almost to the ceiling.
Alessandro — the fleece beneath his waxy, army-green lab coat zipped up to the neck against the carefully calibrated cold — is here to sniff out imperfection. He spots a suspect, wrestles it expertly down from the shelf onto a wooden stool and sets about it with a hammer. A very small hammer.
“You’re listening for a higher pitch,” he says, tapping delicately at the base of the 45kg wheel and squinting as he gauges the reverberations. “That would betray a crack, a void. Weakness.” The penalty? “Downgraded. It won’t make selection. Standards are very, very high.”
It’s a Darwinian existence, the world of parmigiano reggiano, but it didn’t start out that way. Eight centuries ago, when Benedictine monks first began ageing wheels of cow’s milk in a fertile, sun-drenched river valley a couple of dozen miles east of here, it was simply a tentative experiment in food preservation. But so sought-after proved their salty, granular and unusually versatile creation, that every stage of this monastic alchemy would ultimately find itself wrapped in a stringent cloak of regulation.
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Annette Arjoon-Martins
RAISED BY HER INDIGENOUS GRANDMOTHER IN GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA, ANNETTE BUILT A FEMALE DRONE UNIT TO MONITOR MANGROVES
The Amazon to the Andes
THIS AUTUMN, PADDINGTON HEADS TO PERU ON THE BIG SCREEN - FOLLOW IN HIS PAWPRINTS FOR AN EPIC FAMILY ADVENTURE
Serra de Tramuntana
MAJORCA'S MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGE IS EVERY BIT AS BEAUTIFUL AS THE ISLAND'S COASTLINE - AND YOU CAN HIKE STRAIGHT FROM YOUR HOTEL
CRAFTING PERFECTION
Carlsberg's old brewing district has been redeveloped, offering creative new ways to enjoy Copenhagen
HOTEL AWARDS 2024
IT'S BEEN AN EPIC YEAR FOR HOTEL OPENINGS, REVAMPS AND EXTENSIONS, AND WE'VE SCOURED THE GLOBE FOR THE BEST OF THEM. WHETHER YOU WANT TO TUNE INTO THE JUNGLE FROM A TREEHOUSE, SLEEP IN A PIECE OF HISTORY OR WATCH THE SUN SET OVER MOUNTAIN PEAKS FROM YOUR BED, YOU'RE GUARANTEED A MEMORABLE STAY FROM OUR WINNERS AND RUNNERS-UP
MALDIVES
An archipelago of 1,192 coral islands and 26 turquoise atolls looping across the Indian Ocean, the Maldives is home to resorts that cater to every imaginable taste, from barefoot escapes to designer digs. The most convenient to reach are located in the South Malé, North Malé and Vaavu atolls, within speedboat distance of Velana International Airport, while more remote atolls are accessible by seaplane or domestic flight. With easy access to the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Baa and Raa are especially popular. Those around the Equator, including Gaafu Alifu, offer a splendid sense of isolation, abundant marine life and brilliantly starry night skies.
TRANSYLVANIA
The central Romanian region of Dracula fame makes for an intriguing autumn break - sink your teeth into its crafts and culture after discovering its turreted castles.
Audio adventures
FROM OVERTOURISM TO HOW THE OLYMPIC GAMES AFFECTS HOST CITIES, HERE ARE SOME OF THE BEST PODCASTS THAT EXPLORE THE WORLD
NICE
Historically a place where monarchs and aristocrats would escape the winter in favour of warm Mediterranean climes, this southern French city is at its best in the off season
BELFAST
In the Northern Irish capital, the healing and uniting powers of music and art are being used to reconcile the past, look to the future and bring communities together