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Many centuries ago in a monastery
 Many centuries ago in a monastery…
Our tale begins in the 12th century AD during the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The Paduan Plain was mostly marshland, an expanse of woods and forests, dotted with wide open spaces, and void of human settlements. At that time, Cistercian and Benedictine monks embarked upon the daunting task of reclaiming and clearing the land in order to wake the area from its long, dark medieval sleep.
Grana Padano originated in Lower Lombardy, which stretched from the Po to Milan and centred on Codogno and Lodi. Its borders were marked by the River Ticino to the west and the Adda to the east, but its fame soon spread throughout the adjacent lands.
 Convention starts our tale in 1135 with the foundation of the Abbey of Chiaravalle by Cistercian monks who followed the Regulation of St. Benedict.
These monks brought life to the Po Valley by harnessing the rivers, digging irrigation ditches and channels, reclaiming the marshy lowlands, clearing forests, carving out fields and meadows, and introducing cattle. Two of the first farming communities, or "grance", were set up in Vaierà and Villamaggiore.
Benedictine monks followed the Cistercians’ example by reclaiming and tilling the land on an enormous scale in order to inject new life into the area’s agriculture.
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Consorzio per la tutela del Formaggio Grana Padano
