The Dairy
A dairy is a building where milk is processed and its products are sold. The Italian term “malga” usually refers to dairies in mountain areas. There are two kinds of these mountain dairies: malga d’alpeggio, referring to the ones located on the alpine pastures, and malga turnaria, referring to dairies managed on a rota schedule.
The dairy located in Molina is the rota kind, established in 1879. The adjective indicates a type of shared social organization: every morning each associate had to bring the milk from their cows to the dairy, where it was processed to obtain the cheese or butter. Originally this structure was located in the area behind the church but in 1958 it was rebuilt on the road to Cerna.
Inside the building there are two rooms: the first one, called the fire room (logo del fogo), is where cheese is produced. The other one, called the milk room (logo del late), is where the freshly milked milk is stored in large tubs and left to rest overnight to allow the cream to surface. Butter is also produced in this room.
The activity was regulated by a statute, which provided for compliance with precise administrative and hygienic rules. The dairy remained in operation for about a century and closed in 1981. Just three years earlier, in 1978, it still had eighteen members.
The building was recently renovated and adapted to current legislation to make it possible to use it for educational purposes
The dairy can be visited by groups upon reservation.
