Enjoy a Unique Experience

We offer a guided visit of the Lischeto farm conducted by one of our staff. The tour provides an introduction to farming with a description of the cultivation techniques related to sheep farming, the morphological nature of the land, a visit to the dairy and an in-depth explanation of the cheese making and ageing process highlighting the differences between organic and non organic produce. The tour  concludes with a visit to the sheep parlor and an explanation of the milking process and milk collection.

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The Dairy Produce

The Lischeto farm, situated in the countryside surrounding the historical town of Volterra, has been devotedly making artisan cheeses and organic produce since 1990. The products are all crafted with a devotion to a holistic, ecologically balanced approach to organic farming practices. The farmstead raises their own dairy sheep which are selectively bred and fed on organically managed pastures and organic fodder grown on the farm. The produce is thus superior and unique. The cheeses, the extra virgin olive oil, wine and pasta are all produced using age-old hands-on techniques, bespoke and traditional recipes.

Farm Shop

The shop located on the farm provides customers with a wide selection of organic produce crafted on the farm: ewe’s milk and cow’s milk cheeses, yogurt, extra virgin olive oil, honey, freshly made pasta, organic cosmetics and  carefully selected produce sourced from nearby farms. By order only, we also prepare festive Christmas hampers and gift hampers for any occasion or event. Our organic shop is open to the public from Monday to Sunday 9 a.m – 5.30 p.m. Come and visit us!

Prodotti Tipici

You can choose the creamy texture and delicate aroma of the Pecorino degli Sposi, the fragrantly intense aroma of the Rosso Volterrano, the rind is brushed with tomato concentrate and extra virgin olive oil and aged for two months; the traditional Balze Volterrane made with raw milk and thistle rennet, excellent combined with Passito;the delicate and spicy Maschio Volterrano aged for 180 days, Cacio del Monsignore made with raw milk and ripened with spelt in oak barrels,excellent with a glass of fine Tuscan red wine. Ricotta, Raveggiolo, Baccellone and Tomini.

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How did this business start?
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“Volterra is renowned for it’s Etruscan, Roman, Medieval and Renaissance history; its unique landscape of gentle rolling hills interspersed by crags, ravines and gullies; the ancient art of alabaster carving and its artisan workshops.

My sheep farm, Lischeto, is situated in the open countryside surrounded by this rich cultural heritage and it is here that I craft my cheeses, the ancient yet innovative art of cheese making.

The farm was established in 1991 on the knowledge and experience that the closet members of my family had acquired through sheep farming.I learnt how to make cheese chatting with my family members over a glass of wine beside a crackling fire or under the cool shade of the elm tree in front of the house.

I absorbed their knowledge of how to dose the ingredients in the milk, how to age the cheese wheels, the differences between Sardinian and Tuscan cheese making and which ancient secrets I needed to know to reproduce the authentic flavours and distinctive aromas of my cheeses.

These were the basic essentials to distinguish my produce in terms of quality compared to a market that continually undermines the most authentic and beneficial farming practices. I therefore decided to opt for holistic management and the complete organic cycle of production.

The sowing and harvesting of the fodder, selective breeding, the climate, the land and the artisan techniques determine the irrevocable quality of my cheeses as they do so for other organic produce such as meat, wine and olive oil.

When I first began cheese making I crafted Pecorino cheeses, Ricotta and Raveggiolo. Through years of research and recovering ancient recipes I have advanced to craft a variety of original organic cheeses which enabled me to expand my sales and distribution so that my cheeses are now known and sold in specialized stores in various parts of the world.”

Giovanni CannasArtisan producer