Fattorie Iblee (Iblealat)
Agricultural cooperative dairy in the Modica hills making Ragusano DOP, ricotta, mozzarella and provole under the Fattorie Iblee brand, with a shop inside the plant.
About Ragusano
A stretched-curd cheese of raw whole cow's milk from the Hyblaean country of south-eastern Sicily. The curd is cooked at 80 C, drained, scalded and worked by hand into a block with a square section and rounded corners, brined, then tied in pairs and hung astride poles to ripen. Qualigeo dates its trade beyond Sicily to the 16th century. The consortium's published specification gives a section of 15 to 18 cm a side, a length of 43 to 53 cm and 12 to 16 kg; 14 kg is the midpoint. It is made in the forage season, from November to May. Italy listed Ragusano as a typical cheese, by method only, in 1955; it became a denominazione di origine tied to its zone in 1995 and an EU DOP in 1996.
Made in: The whole province of Ragusa plus Noto, Palazzolo Acreide and Rosolini in the province of Syracuse
On the plate
Sweet and delicate, with a vanilla note and little piquancy when young; savoury and piquant in the grating type, with a hint of almond in long-aged wheels, per the consortium. The rind is smooth, thin and golden to straw, browning with age.
Rind: natural crust
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Ragusano
Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG Sicily
Our pickThe Ragusano consortium's page on use suggests Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG among the reds that pair well with the cheese. The wine's red cherry and high acidity suit a table-aged wheel, and both come from south-eastern Sicily.
Etna Bianco Sicily
Our pickThe consortium's page on use suggests Etna Bianco as its example of a Sicilian white for Ragusano. Its citrus and saline minerality lift the sweet young cheese and answer the almond note the consortium finds in long-aged wheels.
Nero d'Avola Sicily
Our pickNero d'Avola is among the reds the consortium's page on use suggests for Ragusano. Its dark fruit, warmth and medium tannin give an aged, savoury wheel some weight and soften its piquancy.
Fiano (Menfi) Sicily
Our pickLong-aged Ragusano shows a hint of almond. Menfi Fiano is nutty and mineral, with toasted almond notes and high acidity, so it echoes that almond and cuts through the savoury paste.
Barrel-fermented Sicilian Chardonnay Sicily
Our pickA young Ragusano is sweet and delicate with a vanilla note. Full-bodied Sicilian Chardonnay fermented or aged in oak is creamy, with ripe stone fruit and vanilla, a rich match for a table wheel of three or four months.
The grapes behind these winesNero d'AvolaCarricanteChardonnayFianoFrappato
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
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.
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.
Ragusano: questions
How big is a Ragusano?
The consortium's specification gives a square section of 15 to 18 cm a side, a length of 43 to 53 cm and 12 to 16 kg, so the 14 kg recorded is the midpoint. Its general page quotes about 16 kg a wheel.
Which wines go with Ragusano?
The consortium's page on use says it pairs well with Etna Bianco among Sicilian whites, and among reds with Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG, Nero d'Avola, Nerello Mascalese, Syrah, Merlot or Frappato.
Where is Ragusano made?
Qualigeo gives the whole province of Ragusa and the communes of Noto, Palazzolo Acreide and Rosolini in the province of Syracuse.
How is it eaten?
The consortium says it is eaten as it is up to about four months and grated once aged over a year. A popular dish is Ragusano all'argentiera, sliced and browned in a pan with garlic, oil and white vinegar.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Sicily
Plan the trip
Visit Ragusano country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
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Sources: protection register, www.qualigeo.eu, www.consorzioragusanodop.it. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.