Published in Regain magazine and De Standaard
During the summer of 2022 I’ve spent time with Roberta in the Maira Valley (IT), who lives at 2100m altitude for almost three months, where she takes care of her Piedmontese cows. This is one of the few farms in the area who still work with this breed. All the milking is done by hand twice a day to make cheeses, yoghurt and butter.
Our meeting started at 4:30am near a parking lot, together with all her cows, to start the transhumance walk up to the mountain to reside with the animals during summertime. Two years ago the transhumance ritual made UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Himanity. Roberto and her family rely on wild pasture, but the tradition is widely under pressure nowadays.
