Dairy

Our story

We get up at dawn, even when its a holiday, and we never stop because animals always need to be looked after. We appreciate the magic of an infinite rainbow of products born from a single raw material, milk. These are the solid foundations upon which we have built Caseificio Gallone in small increments, from the 90s onwards. We share the goodness of our dairy production that was, and remains, proudly artisanal. In the current generation’s 30 years of activity, we have diversified from breeding into dairy. Caseificio Gallone was founded by Tommaso Gallone and his wife, Angela Barletta. Caseificio Gallone is in Ceglie Messapica, in Brindisi’s Salento: a place of excellence in gastronomy.
Everything was born from a simple wood fire, where Tommaso’s mother heated the milk to curdle it, to make ricotta and cacioricotta cheeses. With infinite patience, the ricotta was curdled and stirred countless times, until it became creamy with a pleasant pungent taste: ricotta forte, the king of cheese.
Tommaso’s memories, have grown into a company specializing in dairy production. His sons Giuseppe and Francesco will have the task of continuing this story of excellence together with the 15 young employees trained in the company.

Our headquarters

To immerse ourselves in the dynamic and innovative production reality of Caseificio Gallone, we cross the countryside of Puglia which is tended as if it were a garden. A centuries-old olive grove embraces the dairy which has a total area of about 4000 square meters. We are in Salento, in the Scuole Pie district, just three kilometers from fascinating Ceglie Messapica; a tourist gem in the province of Brindisi Italy), and known worldwide as the ‘capital of Apulian gastronomy’, a destination for visitors interested in gourmet food. An ancient and dense network of taverns, trattorias and restaurants has always characterized Ceglie Messapica’s traditional and evolving modern cuisine. Here in the town, everything is open to change except the absolute loyalty to the quality of the raw produce in the kitchens: from home kitchens to restaurants. And, alongside these outstanding flavors, the locals always extend warm hospitality.

Visiting Caseificio Gallone enables savoring the traditions of the future. Speaking of cacioricotta and ricotta forte cheeses, historical documents take us back with certainty to 1793 when the abbot and agronomist from Taranto, Giovan Battista Gagliardo, wrote ‘Catechismo Agrario per uso de’ Curati di Campagna, e de’ Fattori delle Ville’. The book has been continuously reissued to the present day. In this book full of details on the art of keeping a dairy, written in the Italian language of the period, the exquisite white goodness of cacioricotta and the noble ricotta forte cheeses are illustrated.