The Bra Cheese Festival, officially known simply as “Cheese,” is considered the largest international event in Europe and the world dedicated specifically to raw milk cheese and traditional artisan cheesemaking. The festival is held in the town of Bra, located in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, and is organized by Slow Food International together with the municipality of Bra. Since its founding in 1997, the event has become one of the most influential gatherings in global food culture, attracting cheesemakers, affineurs, dairy farmers, shepherds, food scholars, and culinary tourists from dozens of countries.

The festival is centered around raw milk cheese, meaning cheese produced from milk that has not been pasteurized. Supporters of raw milk cheesemaking argue that it preserves more authentic flavors, reflects local terroir, and maintains traditional microbial diversity that industrial production often removes. Because of this philosophy, the event has become closely associated with the international Slow Food movement, which promotes biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, protection of regional food traditions, and small-scale artisanal production.

During the festival, the streets and squares of Bra are transformed into a massive open-air marketplace and cultural exhibition space. Hundreds of exhibitors showcase cheeses from Italy and around the world, ranging from alpine cheeses and sheep-milk varieties to rare farmhouse specialties that are difficult to find commercially. Visitors can participate in tastings, pairing sessions with wine and craft beer, educational workshops, conferences on sustainable food systems, and demonstrations by cheesemakers and dairy experts. The event also highlights endangered cheese traditions and heritage breeds that are at risk of disappearing because of industrial agriculture.

The event is held every two years and continues to serve as a major international platform for discussing the future of sustainable dairying, food heritage preservation, and artisanal gastronomy.

According to the Internet