This was such a fun experience. We got to see how the buffaloes were milked and the cheesemaking…read moreprocess, and we even got the opportunity to pet the buffaloes. Afterwards, we sampled some delicious fresh bufala mozzarella. The gelato was incredible, and the overall experience was very worth it. 11/10.

I'm glad I added this to my trip! When a friend told me the best, or some of the best, Buffalo…read moreMozzarella in the world comes from Paestum, I had to make this happen, as a fan of food! There are multiple farms in the area, but this is one of the best, if not the best. It is an organic farm that raises its own water buffalo and treats them all REALLY well! There is a lot of automation, and these water buffslo are smart! Three times per day, when the buffalo feel too full of milk, they walk to a pen to get in line to be milked by a robot that uses infrared to find the nipples and attach to them! There are also yellow brushes that massage the buffalo. They walk right up to them and get in position for the spots they want massaged. It's a beautiful facility with enough to see and taste. Definitely do it if you can. Advance reservations arw needed for the tours and for the redtaurant if you want to dine on site. Our tour guide was Rosaria, and she was fantastic! Check them out when visiting Italy.

This beautiful Buffalo Farm/Dairy is the quintessential example of farm-to-table. The staff was…read morewarm, welcoming, and went above and beyond in every aspect of our visit. My friend and I visited the farm/store/restaurant and enjoyed a feast of their Buffalo cheeses, charcuterie and local wines. The patio was beautiful and serene. The cheeses were fresh and delicious. It was perfect. When we left, my friend purchased cheese in their shop, and after having a conversation with the staff, realized that getting a cab back to the train station may be difficult -- they offered to drive us themselves! One of the employees was ending her shift and dropped us off on her way home. Truly amazing people. I can't say enough about Barlotti. It was more than I could have ever hoped for. I encourage anyone visiting this region of Italy to check out this treasure and the nearby ruins.

Caseificio Barlotti…read more Caseifico Barlotti is a water buffalo dairy, where they process DOP certified mozzarella and ricotta cheese. They have a fine farm-to-table restaurant, serving dishes highlighting products from their farm. It is by far the best water buffalo - dairy farm - mozzarella cheese processing - farm to table restaurant I have ever seen. Remember to get there before 11am, so you can see them making the mozzarella. Also, do not miss the museum and temples at Paestum.

Bernala is not a town you might find yourself in on a tour of Italy. About 3 hours South-ish of…read moreNaples and 5 hours south of Rome, this is not really a town for tourists, though it is an absolutely beautiful small Italian town full of nice people ... 40 minutes from the amazing ancient city of Mattera, several archeological sites and a beautiful beach. We were staying at Palazzo Margherita in Bernalda and they arranged for us to see the owners of this shop make cheese in the morning. I am not sure if this is something the shop does for the public, but I would imagine if you called them, or contacted them through their social media sites, the might arrange something. It's well worth the price to see behind the scenes of this family business and includes a delicious cheese plate. Simply put, this is the best cheese I've ever eaten. It is made fresh each day and it is exactly what you'd want in a mozzarella cheese ... soft, wet in the center, salty and just perfect. They do not have cheese in the United States this good ... the owner told us the secret is the freshness and the milk, which is sourced from a local dairy. We had 5 varieties of cheese, each one of them was swoon worthy! That night at the palazzo, they melted a special cheese from here over a fire. The owner had told us the story of the cheese's origins. I semi-remember that it had to do with a horseback rider ... I was so engulfed in the amazing taste of the cheese, I was not as attentive as I should have been. Even if you don't do the cheese making demonstration, there is a very cute shop in the front of the store with local products from Bernalda (aside from the cheese which is made in the back of the shop) including several wines. The owner was nice enough to recommend a perfect, bold local wine. We loaded up on local Italian products as well. If you are in Mattera, or the nearby beaches, it's worth a stop here. This is a small, family run store and the owner (son) speaks some English which helped us because my understanding of Italian is not good. This was one of our most memorable experiences in Italy. Not only because the cheese is amazing ... as are the stories behind it ... but because we were able to be welcomed into the shop by the family who runs it and treated like friends. Grazie mille!

From the owner: Presso il nostro negozio potrete trovare prodotti alimentari tipici del Cilento (caciocavallo,…read morecacioricotta caprina e/o ovina,miele, olio evo, vini, liquori) oltre ad una vasta selezione di prodotti lattiero-caseari di alta qualità.