Parmesan Dairy Tours in Emilia-Romagna

Why Tours Start Early

Parmigiano Reggiano is made every morning. The evening milk rests overnight and is skimmed, fresh morning milk is added in copper vats, the curd is broken up with a whisk-like tool called a spino and heated to 55°C, and after about 50 minutes two wheels are lifted out of each vat. Scalabrini, near Reggio Emilia, says plainly that its 11am tour does not show the curd being broken, cooked or lifted out. Book the first slot of the day if watching the cheese being made is the point.

Choose a Province

Every dairy below makes Parmigiano Reggiano; what changes is the setting and how easy it is to reach.

What a Tour Includes

Most visits last 45 minutes to two hours. You see the vats and the cheesemaker at work, the brine tanks where the wheels float for about three weeks, and the ageing room, where wheels sit on wooden shelves for a year or more. Nearly all end with a tasting of three ages, often 12 or 15, 24 and 30 or 36 months, sometimes with balsamic vinegar, Lambrusco or ricotta. Most of these dairies have a shop selling their own cheese, so bring a cool bag.

Booking and Getting There

Dairies are in hamlets outside the cities, and most expect a car. The exceptions are a few Parma dairies on city bus lines: Ugolotti and San Pier Damiani on line 23, and Giansanti on line 11. Parma's tourist office at Strada Garibaldi 18 also books dairy visits. Visits must be booked; no dairy takes walk-in tour groups. San Pier Damiani asks for at least 48 hours' notice.

Open Dairy Weekend

Once a year dozens of dairies open their doors for Caseifici Aperti, held on 23 and 24 May in 2026. The Parmigiano Reggiano Museum in Fontevivo, west of Parma, covers the history of the cheese.