The Provolone Valpadana comes from the family of the stretched-curd cheeses, that are characterized by the technique of stretching, “filatura”, of the curd, and they have antique origins. The first information about these cheeses date back to the Middle Ages and they indicate that their particular production technology started in the South of Italy. The difficult transportation of the milk and the high local temperatures give the dairies a acid row material that produced an unstable curd. The curd, if it stands for a few hours on a table, tended to stretch, “filare”, that is, it started to have a plastic consistency, making cords or strings, “fili ”, if it was subject to tension. This is the reason of the name "filatura", stretching, particular technique that consists in putting under tension, into very hot water, the curd, once it has stood for a few hours on the inclined tables. In the national territory, the use of this completely Italian technology has given birth to a family of cheeses known under the common names of:

- Provolone
- Provola
- Caciocavallo
- Scamorza
- Mozzarella