As always a traditional cheese is legacy to one race. The provolone of the Monaco it is tutt' one with the Agerolese, a bovine created to half of XIX the century. The Agerolese race is born with the Borboni, that they import riproduttori of razze various, between which Tawny the Alpine one, the Dutch Black Pezzata and the Simmenthal, in order to improve the existing herds in Campania (perlopiù of Podolico stock). The crossings carry out to you in the Agerolese, because of the isolation of this territory, give life to animals that fix better than elsewhere the genetic characters. General Paul Avitabile is the craftsman of the successive genetic change, what door to the realization of the true and own Agerolese. Avitabile, extraordinary military, adventurer peasant and figure returns from England to Agerola, its country born them, in 1845. Thanks to its enterprises in India, in England have received many gifts between which torello, two vacche pregnant and one vitella of Jersey race. It is an important gift, because to export animals of this race to outside of United Kingdom otherwise it would be prohibited. Avitabile is convinced that intercrossing the mestizos it derives you from the Tawny one and from the Podolica with the Jersey will obtain a race from the twofold attitude - latte and meat - than will be adapted perfectly to the characteristics of the zone.

The Agerolese is therefore the synthesis of three genetic patrimonies and still today is introduced to times with a mantle color saio of monaco, to times clear gray, second that prevails the Jersey or the Tawny one. All, in any case, are recognizable for the longitudinal line on the rump, more or little giallognola. The quality of the latte ones of this vacca is exceptional, but obviously the yield is lower than that one of the Frisian, true and own it blots some from latte. The Agerolese is much peasant one, food is pleased little and metabolizza much good that that eats. Characteristics that are not enough to save it from the extinction, if the only objective of the breeding is the latte amount of. If instead with those latte cheese is produced, then the survival of the Agerolese becomes an unavoidable element. Today, in fact, all have understood that the better one provolone of the Monaco is made with those latte. And therefore, thanks to the efforts of the veterinaries Vincenzo Caputo (that it has founded the Bovine Consortium of Agerola) and Luca Mascolo (of the Asl of the Sorrentina Peninsula), true and own caretakers of the race, and to the aid of the local institutions (Montana Community Lattari Mounts Peninsula Sorrentina and Comune di Agerola) is resolutions to conserve a zootecnico patrimony of approximately 150 heads (from the 75 counts to you in 1992). They are still the little, least, but the radical change of direction very leaves to hope. Therefore as it induces to a briciolo of optimism to have recently obtained, also thanks to the sollicitations of Slow Food, the institution of the Identifying Registry of the Agerolese race.