If you travel to Emilia-Romagna, eating your way through Parma is likely at the top of your list. While cutting into Prosciutto di Parma and twisting fresh tagliatelle onto your fork are both must-dos, seeing a Parmigiano Reggiano come to life is truly unforgettable.
Early in 2026, I was in Bologna for a few days to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and since we were a bunch of people in town, we looked for something special to do. This is how we ended up booking a Parmigiano Reggiano tour at Caseificio Ugolotti, a family-run dairy located just on the outskirts of Parma.
Since our group was staying in Bologna, we had to find our way into Parma, and that was even more simple than I had in mind. There are several local trains connecting cities in Emilia-Romagna, and we took one of those from Bologna towards Parma. From the city’s main train station, we took a bus to Caseificio Ugolotti, and the rest is history. And you can read about it all below.
Caseificio Ugolotti has been making cheese in small batches since 1930, and each bite demonstrates the amount of effort and passion that goes into their creations. Here is what it’s really like to step inside a working dairy, witness an age-old tradition, and taste cheese straight from the source.
Copper Cauldrons and Golden Wheels: My Parmigiano Reggiano Tour at Caseificio Ugolotti
The moment you arrive at Caseificio Ugolotti, you realize this isn’t a massive, industrial factory. It’s a family-run business with roots in the Parmigiano Reggiano DOP region.
Despite their small footprint, their dedication to quality control is absolute. Every drop of milk comes exclusively from local farms monitored by the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium. There are no shortcuts, no preservatives, no dyes, and zero chemical additives. Just raw milk, natural starter whey, calf rennet, and salt.
Just 16 wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano are produced daily by Caseificio Ugolotti due to their emphasis on artisanal precision.
To see Parmigiano Reggiano being made, you have to wake up early—and it is worth every lost minute of sleep.
The process actually begins the evening before you arrive for the Parmigiano Reggiano tour. Milk from the evening milking sits overnight so the cream can naturally rise to the top. The next morning, that skimmed evening milk is mixed into massive copper bell-shaped cauldrons alongside fresh, whole milk from that morning’s delivery.
When you arrive for the morning Parmigiano Reggiano tour, you get to watch the transformation happen in real time.
The first stage could be called coagulation & spino. This is when rennet and natural starter whey (saved from the previous day’s batch) are added to the warm milk. Within ten minutes, it coagulates into a soft curd. The cheesemaker then uses a traditional tool called a “spino” to break the curd down into tiny, rice-sized fragments.
The second step of the process starts by cooking in copper. The mixture cooks for about 30 minutes at 55 °C. The solid cheese granules sink to the bottom of the copper boiler, forming a single mass.
Now, it is time for my favorite part of the process. It’s time for the lift. And watching the cheesemaker extract the twin masses of cheese from the boiling whey using traditional linen cloths was almost magical. This process isn’t simple at all and requires sheer strength and generations of muscle memory.
Subsequently, the process goes into molding and identification, and that is critical for a cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano. The cheese is divided into two halves, placed into fascere (molds) to give it its iconic shape, and stamped with a casein plate—a unique progressive number that serves as the wheel’s official identity card.
Within a few hours, the famous dotted “Parmigiano Reggiano” branding, the dairy’s serial number, and the month and year of production are permanently embossed onto the rind.
After a few days of resting, the young cheese wheels are submerged in a natural saltwater brine for nearly a month. This salting process is the only seasoning the cheese will ever receive.
Once brine-soaked, the wheels move into Caseificio Ugolotti’s maturation warehouse. Walking into this room can be a sensory overload: there are rows upon rows of giant, golden wheels stacked floor-to-ceiling, filling the air with a nutty, savory aroma. Some people might not enjoy the smell, and I’m here to let you know that. I thought it was a bit much in the beginning, but after a couple of minutes, it’s fine.
Here, time does the heavy lifting. By law, Parmigiano Reggiano must age for at least 12 months. At this milestone, it naturally becomes lactose-free, highly digestible, packed with calcium, and lower in cholesterol than most hard cheeses.
Beyond the Supermarket: Why Caseificio Ugolotti is the Best Parmigiano Reggiano Tour in Parma
A Parmigiano Reggiano tour at Ugolotti isn’t just about watching the work; it’s about experiencing the flavors. And there are so many flavors.
After visiting the salting room and aging warehouse, our internal guide led us to the tasting table. The standard tour includes a side-by-side vertical tasting of 3 different ages of Parmigiano Reggiano, paired with local breadsticks, traditional balsamic vinegar, and a crisp glass of local Malvasia wine.
If you want to make a day of it, you can upgrade your visit like we did. We chose the Light Lunch Option that includes the cheese tasting, Prosciutto di Parma, and a full traditional Parmesan first course (something like fresh handmade tortelli) followed by dessert and local wine.
If you arrive early before your tour starts, they even serve an “alternative breakfast” at their on-site café, complete with fresh dairy products, homemade cakes, and espresso. You can check this out with the people from Caseificio Ugolotti when you book your Parmigiano Reggiano tour.
How to Visit Caseificio Ugolotti for the Parmigiano Reggiano Tour
If you are planning your own Parmigiano Reggiano tour in Parma, keep in mind that you can find it located just on the outskirts of Parma’s city center, easily accessible by car or taxi. I arrived there by bus, like I mentioned above, and it was effortless. But you can check on the map below before you decide what to do.
Keep in mind that the tours run in the morning so visitors can see the active milk transformation and wheel extraction. If you get there a bit late, you might miss some parts of the process.
And their on-site restaurant serves lunch from 12:00 to 14:30, featuring an from the menu menu filled with typical regional dishes. This was much better than what I expected, and you should try it out.
My main pro tip is simple. Book your tour online well in advance, and inform the team of any food allergies before arrival. Don’t forget to visit their shop on the way out to vacuum-pack a few wedges for your suitcase! We took some tasty pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano home, and it was like we were visiting Italy with every bite.
Tasting the King of Cheeses: A Behind-the-Scenes Parmigiano Reggiano Tour in Parma
Via Marco Emilio Lepido, 72
43123 Parma, Italia
