Il Fiorino

Il Fiorino, cheeses with the flavor of Maremma.

From transhumant shepherds of Casentino in the mid-1700s to a modern company that stands as a flagship of pecorino production in Italy. Nearly three centuries of history in Roccalbegna, in the heart of the Maremma. The dairy was founded thanks to an intuition by Mr. Duilio in the post-war years, to meet the evolving needs of consumers and provide a more standardized product in terms of shape and taste. Until then, cheese was made directly by shepherds and sold at markets, but its organoleptic qualities varied greatly.

Thus was born Il Fiorino, one of the first dairies ever built in Tuscany—though it faced early challenges, as many shepherds were reluctant to sell their milk to a third party for processing. Duilio, nicknamed “the gruff wizard of Tuscan pecorino” and a founding member of the Tuscan DOP consortium, was among the first to revive raw milk cheese production. Still today, all processes are carried out by hand—from the skimmed ricotta to the salted, turned, and brushed wheels. Only milk from the Maremma is used, and it remains one of the few dairies with natural caves embedded in rocky spurs.

At the end of the 1990s came the generational shift: his daughter Angela, at just 28, took over the management.
Tradition remained the cornerstone of the business. At her side, her partner Simone Sargentoni. Young, enthusiastic, and passionate about ancient food history, they began a journey of cheese rediscovery, supported by in-depth historical research. Enter the **Marzolino**, a cheese from the time of the Medici—legend has it that Caterina de’ Medici gifted it at her wedding to Henry II of France, and it was traditionally presented to the Pope in Rome during the feast of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini. A tradition that Il Fiorino continues today with its own Marzolino line. Or the **Fior di Natura**, an award-winning cheese for innovation that uses vegetable rennet, just like the ancient Etruscans did.

Today’s numbers are remarkable: 28 employees and a turnover exceeding 4 million euros, with steady growth. Harrods in London has been a loyal customer for over thirty years. More than 100 international awards and obsessive attention to every step of the process. They’ve managed to extend pecorino aging up to nearly three years thanks to “high-tech maturation rooms” capable of simulating ideal environmental conditions.
“But entrepreneurial risks remain high,” Angela explains, “and since we want to guarantee the highest quality, we pay close attention to every phase of production.”

“We’re also working on evolving our products, thanks to the skill of our team, who by now have developed a sensitivity for reading the ‘rind’ of the cheese,” she continues.
“We feel like a family inside a cheese atelier, where each of us can express ourselves as individual artists of the cheesemaking craft. Like great Italian wines, the emotions of a ‘five-year vertical tasting of Fiorino cheeses’ are moments that true connoisseurs around the world recognize as unique sensory experiences—like contemplating a great work of art.”