Dipasquale Formaggi, Casa del Formaggio S. Anna
Family cheese shop that grew from a 1950s shop in central Ragusa, where Carmelo Dipasquale selected and aged cheeses in natural caves. Now on Corso Italia, with oil, wine and cured meats.
About Provola dei Nebrodi
A stretched-curd cheese of raw cow's milk from the Nebrodi mountains of north-eastern Sicily. At least 60 percent of the cows' feed must come from the production zone. The curd is scalded in water at 65 to 70 C, stretched in wooden vessels under boiling whey and shaped by hand into a pear with the old 'ncuppatina technique, then hung in pairs astride a pole. Besides fresh, semi-aged and aged forms there is a flaky 'sfoglia' type and one with a whole green lemon worked into the paste. The figures recorded are for the aged cheese, which Qualigeo describes as oval with a short neck: midpoints of its 2 to 10 kg and 12 to 25 cm across. DOP since 2020.
Made in: Numerous municipalities in the provinces of Catania, Enna and Messina, in the Nebrodi mountains
On the plate
Fresh: sweet, slightly acidic, with a soft ivory paste. With age it turns increasingly peppery, the paste yellow to amber and semi-hard to hard, and it may flake. Slow Food adds that long kneading of the curd before stretching makes it tend to flake in the mouth.
Rind: natural crust
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Provola dei Nebrodi
Etna Bianco Superiore Sicily
Our pickFresh provola is sweet and slightly acidic with a soft ivory paste. Carricante from Milo is dry with racy acidity and a saline, chalky finish, which lifts that milk sweetness and keeps a peppery aged wheel in check.
Frappato Sicily
Our pickQualigeo says tradition cooks the provola all'argentiera, with garlic, anchovies and a little vinegar. That salty, sharp richness wants a light red with fresh acidity, and Frappato's red berries, low tannin and high acidity fit.
Sicilian late-harvest Moscato and Malvasia Sicily
Our pickAged provola turns increasingly peppery. A lightly dried or late-picked Moscato or Malvasia, sweet and medium-bodied with apricot and orange blossom, sets sweetness against that pepper, and its acidity keeps it from turning heavy.
The grapes behind these winesFrappatoCarricanteZibibboMalvasia di LipariMoscato Bianco
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Dipasquale Formaggi, Marina di Ragusa
Second Dipasquale shop, opened in 2007 on the coast at Marina di Ragusa, alongside the Corso Italia shop.
Cheese experiences nearby
Guided visit and cheese tasting at Feudo Pollichino
Guided visit of an organic sheep farm and dairy, ending with a tasting of its DOP cheeses, fresh zabbinata and ricotta desserts. Bookings go through the farm's contact page.
We Cheese, Ragusano DOP and the cheeses of the Iblei
Four-day cheese event in the streets of Ragusa Ibla built around Ragusano DOP: tastings, live cheesemaking, themed restaurant menus and guided visits of historic palaces. The second edition was held 23 to 26 July 2026.
FAM, Fiera Agroalimentare Mediterranea
Ragusa's agricultural and livestock fair. The 51st edition, held in September 2026, included a Ragusano DOP consortium workshop, wheel marking and a best-wheel contest. In 2025 it moved to a new site on via Prof. Vincenzo Malfitano.
Torneo del Maiorchino, Carnival wheel-throwing at Novara di Sicilia
Carnival game in Novara di Sicilia: teams of throwers send a whole aged Maiorchino wheel, wound with a cord, rolling down the town's main street. Slow Food says Basicò keeps the custom too.
Provola dei Nebrodi: questions
How big is a Provola dei Nebrodi?
Qualigeo gives 15 to 35 cm high and 12 to 25 cm across; fresh ones weigh 1 to 2 kg, the other types 2 to 10 kg. The weight and diameter recorded are midpoints for the aged cheese.
What is provola all'argentiera?
Qualigeo says tradition cooks it all'argentiera, pan-fried with garlic, anchovies and a little vinegar.
What types are there?
Qualigeo lists fresh (fresca), semi-aged, aged, sfoglia and the type with a whole green lemon in the centre.
Where is it made?
Qualigeo gives numerous municipalities in the provinces of Catania, Enna and Messina; Slow Food says the whole Nebrodi area.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Sicily
Plan the trip
Visit Provola dei Nebrodi country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
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Sources: protection register, www.qualigeo.eu, www.fondazioneslowfood.com. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.