Underground Built Heritage and Food Production: From the Theoretical Approach to a Case/Study of Traditional Italian "Cave Cheeses"

Throughout history, the natural perishability of food and its inconstant supply over theyear have influenced family diets and local food traditions worldwide. These critical issues have beenmanaged in two very different ways: by preserving raw foodstuffs, or by processing them. Undergroundspaces have often been used for both purposes. Their use for the preservation or processingof foods is a case of successful adaptation of local skills and technologies to the management oflocal resources and environmental conflicts. This paper, after proposing a methodological approachfor elements included in the function "food" of the new-born Underground Built Heritage (UBH)class, lists the main characteristics of three different types of artefacts falling within this category:iceboxes, cellars, and traditional food production. For each group, several examples from all overthe world are presented. After this overview, the paper turns to a case study of Italian production ofcheese in caves and the general level of protection guaranteed by the current European and Italianlegislation to the connection between given food specialities and the UBH used in their production.After introducing the general context, the article analyses the production of traditional Italian "cavecheeses" in detail, with particular reference to Taleggio, Fossa di Sogliano, Canestrato di Moliteno,Pallone di Gravina, and Grotte del Caglieron cheeses, in order to determine how and whether UBH isincluded in dedicated marketing strategies such as the choice of a product's logo and the product'sbranding and storytelling.