This is my Genesis piece on KnownOrigin. As a food photographer, I try to spread the culture of food and make traditions known by telling the food stories of my two countries: the country where I was born and the country where I live. On one side strong flavors and spicy dishes mixed with sweet and sour, on the other side, the delicate flavors of the sea and the scents of herbs and wine combined with the unmistakable taste of countless gastronomic delights. All food made with great passion. In this photo I tell a story about some of the most famous Italian cheeses, Asiago, spicy smoked provolone Valpadana, Sardinian pecorino and Apulian goat cheese Gàlata Casarano. Asiago takes its name from the famous plateau located in the north-eastern part of the peninsula. It is so unique that it has earned the PDO label, the Protected Designation of Origin. The same as provolone Valpadana. The PDO label, assigned by the European Union, certifies and guarantees the quality of an agri-food product, attesting its compliance with a specific guideline. The guideline contains a series of rules concerning, for example, the place of origin, the ingredients and the production phases: factors contributing to making a specialty unique and therefore worthy to be protected. The first evidence relating to the production of cheese in Italy dates back to around the year 1000 when there was only sheep farming. With the milk of these sheep was made the "pegorin" cheese, which is the ancestor of Asiago and other modern cheese. From the Middle Ages, the production of cheese passed into the hands of the monks. Initially considered a food for the poor, over the centuries it began to be appreciated even by the richest in its most valuable varieties. It is precisely at this moment that the variants of cheese inherited from the tradition of ancient Rome begin to differentiate decisively. The monasteries are the fulcrum of this first phase of creation of the cheese varieties that we now define as classic. In our modern times Asiago and provolone is very different from pecorino because is made with cow milk, instead "pecorino" is still made with sheep milk. These hard cheeses are amazing with tannic red wines as Chianti, Barbaresco, Barolo, Vernaccia di San Gimignano or Amarone.