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Cosacavaddu Ibleo
the authentic taste of rebellious Sicily
From the heart of the Iblei Mountains, a unique cheese born from Alessandro Criscione’s dream.
Discover more
Cosacavaddu Ibleo
the authentic taste of rebellious Sicily
From the heart of the Iblei Mountains, a unique cheese born from Alessandro Criscione’s dream.
Discover more

Alessandro Criscione:
the tale of a rebellious dreamer

“I am a Sicilian. A man of the land, a son of the sea and the wind. History has asked me to take care of creation. I practice simplicity and love life. I am a bit of a dreamer and a bit of a rebel. The Cosacavaddu? The mutation of an idea, the search for quality without hesitation, the sincere and due tribute to my Ragusa land.”

1928 The Origins
The first generation of cheesemakers

The company represents the fifth family generation of breeders and cheesemakers, from 1928 until today, from father to son, up to Alessandro.

Grandpa Rosario: the guide with his feet on the ground

Alessandro’s tales are little snippets of happiness: you can see it in his eyes when he talks about it; alongside his grandfather Rosario, a guide and a man of solid values, he puts heart and passion into everything he does; he has proven this by carrying out a “family dream.”

Iblean People: an identity forged by the land

Iblean people, children of an ancestral history linked to the rural and peasant world, where the Mother Earth is fertile and purifying, as in Pirandello’s novels and, at the same time, harsh and raw as in Verga’s novels.

Il Baglio di Camemi

The backdrop to this beautiful story is the ancient Baglio di Camemi, where, even today, the dairy art of producing Cosacavaddu Ibleo is perpetuated. Gestures that have been repeated for centuries in the same way, for a product that has remained linked to artisanal manual processing. This is the beginning of a long journey that links Ragusa’s history and tradition with research and experimentation.

Baglio Camemi

Innovation and Agriculture 4.0: Alessandro’s new course

Alessandro Criscione pursues a new paradigm that uses the most modern farming systems, with integrated digital precision technology, converging in Agriculture 4.0. All this is done to preserve animal welfare, take care of the cows’ nutrition and health in the smallest details and elevate the final quality of the cheese.

The suspended time of the Baglio: timeless authenticity

Among the ancient dwellings and stables of the Baglio there is an air of authenticity and at the same time uniqueness. The slow passing of time that forged the lives of timeless women and men.

Today: The Family as a Living Heritage

Today Alessandro lives in those ancestral spaces with his wife Valeria and two sons Jacopo and Christian. Family, the fil rouge that binds six generations of indefatigable dairy art lovers.

Towards the Future: A Contemporary and Sustainable Sicily

Environmental protection, animal health and welfare, and energy self-sufficiency are the cornerstones of the farm. A jewel that lays on the ancient stones that pave the courtyard of Baglio Camemi. Entering the depths of the business idea that runs the company means practicing a new, dynamic and contemporary Sicily that looks to the future.

Baglio Camemi
1928 The Origins
The first generation of cheesemakers
The company represents the fifth family generation of breeders and cheesemakers, from 1928 until today, from father to son, up to Alessandro.


Grandpa Rosario: the guide with his feet on the ground

Alessandro’s tales are little snippets of happiness: you can see it in his eyes when he talks about it; alongside his grandfather Rosario, a guide and a man of solid values, he puts heart and passion into everything he does; he has proven this by carrying out a “family dream.”
Iblean People: an identity forged by the land
Iblean people, children of an ancestral history linked to the rural and peasant world, where the Mother Earth is fertile and purifying, as in Pirandello’s novels and, at the same time, harsh and raw as in Verga’s novels.


Il Baglio di Camemi

The backdrop to this beautiful story is the ancient Baglio di Camemi, where, even today, the dairy art of producing Cosacavaddu Ibleo is perpetuated. Gestures that have been repeated for centuries in the same way, for a product that has remained linked to artisanal manual processing. This is the beginning of a long journey that links Ragusa’s history and tradition with research and experimentation.
Innovation and Agriculture 4.0: Alessandro’s new course
Alessandro Criscione pursues a new paradigm that uses the most modern farming systems, with integrated digital precision technology, converging in Agriculture 4.0. All this is done to preserve animal welfare, take care of the cows’ nutrition and health in the smallest details and elevate the final quality of the cheese.


The suspended time of the Baglio: timeless authenticity

Among the ancient dwellings and stables of the Baglio there is an air of authenticity and at the same time uniqueness. The slow passing of time that forged the lives of timeless women and men.
Today: The Family as a Living Heritage
Today Alessandro lives in those ancestral spaces with his wife Valeria and two sons Jacopo and Christian. Family, the fil rouge that binds six generations of indefatigable dairy art lovers.


Towards the Future: A Contemporary and Sustainable Sicily

Environmental protection, animal health and welfare, and energy self-sufficiency are the cornerstones of the farm. A jewel that lays on the ancient stones that pave the courtyard of Baglio Camemi. Entering the depths of the business idea that runs the company means practicing a new, dynamic and contemporary Sicily that looks to the future.
1928 The Origins
The first generation of cheesemakers
The company represents the fifth family generation of breeders and cheesemakers, from 1928 until today, from father to son, up to Alessandro.


Grandpa Rosario: the guide with his feet on the ground

Alessandro’s tales are little snippets of happiness: you can see it in his eyes when he talks about it; alongside his grandfather Rosario, a guide and a man of solid values, he puts heart and passion into everything he does; he has proven this by carrying out a “family dream.”
Iblean People: an identity forged by the land
Iblean people, children of an ancestral history linked to the rural and peasant world, where the Mother Earth is fertile and purifying, as in Pirandello’s novels and, at the same time, harsh and raw as in Verga’s novels.

Il Baglio di Camemi

The backdrop to this beautiful story is the ancient Baglio di Camemi, where, even today, the dairy art of producing Cosacavaddu Ibleo is perpetuated. Gestures that have been repeated for centuries in the same way, for a product that has remained linked to artisanal manual processing. This is the beginning of a long journey that links Ragusa’s history and tradition with research and experimentation.
Innovation and Agriculture 4.0: Alessandro’s new course
Alessandro Criscione pursues a new paradigm that uses the most modern farming systems, with integrated digital precision technology, converging in Agriculture 4.0.


The suspended time of the Baglio: timeless authenticity

Among the ancient dwellings and stables of the Baglio there is an air of authenticity and at the same time uniqueness. The slow passing of time that forged the lives of timeless women and men.
Today: The Family as a Living Heritage
Today Alessandro lives in those ancestral spaces with his wife Valeria and two sons Jacopo and Christian. Family, the fil rouge that binds six generations of indefatigable dairy art lovers.

Towards the Future: A Contemporary and Sustainable Sicily

Environmental protection, animal health and welfare, and energy self-sufficiency are the cornerstones of the farm. A jewel that lays on the ancient stones that pave the courtyard of Baglio Camemi. Entering the depths of the business idea that runs the company means practicing a new, dynamic and contemporary Sicily that looks to the future.

The territory
where magic is born

The sea: the Mediterranean

Among the flowering pastures surrounded by dry stone walls, you do not forget the sea. The sea is there, in the background, enveloping you with its majestic crystalline beauty. Alessandro’s lands are the last strips of the Hyblean highlands that sink into the waters of the Mediterranean.

There are mornings, during the flowering of the pastures, when the sea mist mingles with the dense fog that envelops Marina di Ragusa and drifts up into the hills. It settles gently on the flowers and grass and then vanishes at the first light of dawn. It is the touch of the Mediterranean; the signature that embellishes our Iblean Cosacavaddu, making it unique and inimitable.

It is the mysterious mechanisms of nature that govern and define the unspeakable mosaic of scents and flavors of Sicilian creation; the same ones that Alessandro collects from the milk and preserves in his dairy works.

The land: Baglio Camemi

La terra: Baglio Camemi

The strip of land on which Baglio Camemi and Alessandro’s pastures stand can be defined as the last strip of land of the African tectonic plate. Right at the same time as the Iblei area, there was a collision with the Eurasian plate, and this gave rise to mineral-rich lands. The collision resulted in a remixing that we can observe today in the meadow substrates: red clays rich in iron, magnesium with solidified lapilli from lavas of ancient submarine volcanoes, and finally fragments and shales of white limestone.

Here Mother Earth has been benevolent: she has given the grasses and flowers flavors and richness of nutrients, such as to give pleasantness and health to the cows, as well as to embellish the organoleptic value of the cheese.

Flower pastures: colors and scents

The floral bouquet of aromatic honeys, typical of Alessandro Criscione’s Cosacavaddu, owes everything to the incredible variety of herbs and flowers that, every spring, adorn the lands and pastures, adjacent to the Baglio Camemi property. It is a true miracle of nature.

The cows feed on this precious mantle and transfer those colorful and fragrant markers inside the milk, determining its color and pleasantness. And here the milk becomes thick and increases its yellow hue; if the grasses condition the quality of the fatty matter the most, it is the floral varieties that dictate its final character.

Marigold, wild celery, mallow, mustard, and all the other wild species that grow on those lands define the milk’s aromatic kit and transfer this miracle to the inside of the curd. Only aging will enhance their aromatic contribution and the inevitable uniqueness of each form of Cosacavaddu.
“And if the heart of tradition beats in the past, it is in the present that the true protagonists of our dream live: the happy cows of Camemi.”
Discover how they live and why their milk is so special

The Alpine Brown Breed

“The Happy Cows”

More than 1,000 km from the Alps, Alessandro, has settled on Sicilian soil the Alpine breed par excellence: the Brown Swiss. The milk produced by this breed is qualitatively one of the best that can be obtained.

But how can animals that routinely plough high pastures up to 2,000 meters, sea view, live?

The Bruna Alpina is one of the most versatile breeds, with a great adaptability that allows it to sustain even hot climates such as Sicily. It produces less milk than Friesian, spotted white and black cows, but its richness in nutrients and aromatic components useful for quality cheese production is unparalleled.
Alessandro’s cows are the queens of contrada Camemi: they live 5 km from the sea, in loose housing, meaning they can move freely in and out of the barn. Inside they find automatic brushes to give themselves a massage. To relieve the rumen they can snack even 10 to 12 times a day and supplement grass and flowers with hay and grains.

“I chose a breed of Swiss origin to follow the destiny of my land — a melting pot of races, cultures, and traditions that have managed to align along the thread of history.”

01

Zero Additives

Forbidden to use any silage, additives, preservatives, ferments or dyes!

02

Happy Cows

They are for all intents and purposes happy cows, and because of this, they produce the best milk possible.

03

Certified Wellbeing

The farm is certified by the National Animal Welfare Reference Center and applies a strict protocol, evaluated annually.

03

Certified Wellbeing

The farm is certified by the National Animal Welfare Reference Center and applies a strict protocol, evaluated annually.

01

Zero Additives
Forbidden to use any silage, additives, preservatives, ferments or dyes!

02

Happy Cows
They are for all intents and purposes happy cows, and because of this, they produce the best milk possible.

03

Certified Wellbeing
The farm is certified by the National Animal Welfare Reference Center and applies a strict protocol, evaluated annually.

The Cosacavaddu Ibleo

PAT

Traditional Food Products

  • Product: Cheese
  • Raw Material: Milk and Salt
  • Milk: Cow
  • Milk Treatment: Whole Raw
  • Curd Temperature: Raw
  • Dough Moisture: Hard Semi-Hard
  • Technology: Spun
  • Maturity: Semi-mature and Mature
  • Fat content: Fat
  • Shape Geometry: Square-based parallelepiped with rounded corners
  • Sides: Variable length
  • Weight: Kg 12 – 14
  • External appearance: Peel cleaned or capped with olive oil. Smooth and greasy
  • Color: Light straw yellow or more toward brown depending on maturity

A rare and unique cheese

Cosacavaddu Ibleo represents the oldest form of cheese production in the province of Ragusa. Alessandro Criscione produces it using the same techniques as his ancestors, in the same baglio he used as a child, with much of the same equipment that was once used. What has changed is the quality of the milk he manages to obtain thanks to a maniacal attention to animal welfare, the feeding based exclusively on grass, flowers and hay, as well as dried grains and cereals. Alessandro’s product is unique, a rare cheese that remains hooked on history. The quality is distinguished by manual processing that pays attention to detail, to minutiae, to the choice of accompanying the cheese hour after hour on its journey from curd to maturation.

Processing

Cosacavaddu Ibleo undergoes two important stages during its processing: cheese-making proper and the subsequent spinning. The latter follows ancestral manual techniques that have been repeated for generations and were adopted by Alessandro learning from his father. An exciting art that belongs to the southern school of cheese-making and, in the Ragusa region, has found its magnificent interpretation with this cheese of monumental shape and size.

Seasoning

Its name, Cosacavaddu, derives from the classic position it assumes when it is taken for maturing. The curd is in fact left to dry on a wooden board (a cavaddu) and is then hung in pairs tied in the middle with a very thick rope of cannu or zammara. During this period, the cheese begins its ripening phase with the start of dehydration, the complexification of aromas and the structuring of its organoleptic identity. Each wheel will be distinct from all the others.

Many phenomena intervene to make it unique and inimitable. Alessandro has chosen to produce especially semi-matured cheeses of 4 to 6 months, but given the high quality of the raw material, the majority of production is 24 to 36 months. These are rare works of dairy art that tell of the excellence of the perfect triangle created here at Baglio Camemi between territory, man and animal.

Organoleptic properties

Cosacavaddu Ibleo is part of the semi-mature or mature pasta filata cheeses. It is therefore a product that has its own theoretical identity, but thanks to Alessandro’s skill as a breeder and cheesemaker, it becomes a unique and inimitable work of art.

Semi-cured

The rind is pale straw yellow in colour, smooth, fairly thin and gently elastic. When cut, the paste is compact, with a straw-yellow colour with more intense nuances that highlight the great quality of the milk, its fat and, above all, the quality of its meadows with a great floral variety, typical of these lands between the sea and the hills. The flavour is sweet, with slight sensations that are still lactic and acidulous but very gentle and savoury, ending with a nice sensation of yoghurt and wildflower honey. On the palate, one can still perceive the elastic nature of the pasta filata. Its intensity is already enveloping and ample with an already moderately persistent finish. You can feel all the savouriness of this territory towards Marina di Ragusa. One perceives the typical iodine tones of the Mediterranean maquis.

Matured for a minimum of 24 months

The rind is pale straw yellow in colour, smooth, fairly thin and gently elastic. When cut, the paste is compact, with a straw-yellow colour with more intense nuances that highlight the great quality of the milk, its fat and, above all, the quality of its meadows with a great floral variety, typical of these lands between the sea and the hills. The flavour is sweet, with slight sensations that are still lactic and acidulous but very gentle and savoury, ending with a nice sensation of yoghurt and wildflower honey. On the palate, one can still perceive the elastic nature of the pasta filata. Its intensity is already enveloping and ample with an already moderately persistent finish. You can feel all the savouriness of this territory towards Marina di Ragusa. One perceives the typical iodine tones of the Mediterranean maquis.

Awards

2024
World cheese

World cheese award in Portugal

2023
Villani Award

To producers who distinguish themselves in the artisanal processing of a food product

2023
Rome Award

Cheese obtained from raw milk of animals grazing wild or semi-wild

2023
Italian Cheese Award

Seasoned stretched curd category – Cosacavaddu ibleo 24 months

Come visit us

Farm
“Alessandro Criscione”

We await you at Baglio Camemi, in the heart of the Iblean highlands, where time flows slowly and every corner tells a story. Stroll among the dry-stone walls, breathe in the salty air drifting in from the sea, watch our happy cows grazing, and see with your own eyes how our Cosacavaddu Ibleo is born.

© 2025 Alessandro Criscione. All rights reserved.
VAT No.:

Texts: Bernardo Pasquali
Photos: Melissa Carnemolla,On Digital Marketing and Claudia Todaro