Slow Food Presidium 
The Sheep Breeding Farm Gran Sasso is based in Castel Del Monte (AQ) and has been present for 40 years in the Abruzzo region with its products. Known especially for the Pecorino Canestrato di Castel del Monte, the company is today a multifunctional reality. The historical activity of sheep breeding, practiced according to traditional methods, has been joined over time by many sectors, which have allowed us to develop and expand in a sustainable and economically possible a modern agricultural reality, but always linked to traditions and territory.
The 2200 sheep (especially Gentile di Puglia and Sopravvissana) give milk to produce Pecorino Canestrato di Castel del Monte (Slow Food Presidium since 2004), as well as excellent sheep ricotta and lamb meat.
The added value of these products are the pastures on the L’Aquila side of the Gran Sasso, where the flocks can graze one of Europe’s greatest plant biodiversity. In the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, in fact, 2364 floristic and vegetable species have been registered. Naturally this richness is preserved in the traditional raw milk processing.
From the rotation of crops in our mountain soils, we obtain not only fodder for our flocks, but also two other Presidia: the Lentils of Santo Stefano di Sessanio and the Solina Wheat of the Abruzzo Apennines.
Our passion and growing entrepreneurial challenges have led us to diversify our products over time and to offer other dairy products, meat, legumes and cereals to our customers, admirers of a quality gastronomy, made with care and respecting the rhythms of nature and our territory.
It is with them that we share our commitment to a sustainable economy and agriculture, as well as our passion for good food… in every sense.
The Gran Sasso mountain pastures were historically the destination for a seasonal migration of livestock, the transhumance. In past centuries the shepherds would climb up to the Campo Imperatore plateau in the spring with
thousands and thousands of sheep, mostly of the Sopravvissana or Gentile di Puglia breeds. But each year the numbers declined as the herders were discouraged by the difficult conditions. The sheep’s milk is used to make Canestrato, which ages from two months to a year. Its flavor is pronounced and piquant, and the pecorino is excellent eaten on its own or grated.
Production area: pastures on the southern slopes of Gran Sasso, L’Aquila Province
Seasonality: Canestrato is produced year-round. The Presidium protocol stipulates a minimum maturing time of 2 months for 1-2 kg forms, 8 months for the 5 kg forms and 15 months for the traditional 15 kg forms
Last modified: 23 May 2022
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