Can a geographical indication help rewrite local history and traditions? : the case of bitto cheese

The present article explores linguistic issues connected to geographical indications for food products by focusing on a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) for a particular cheese made in Italy and the way it is represented in different texts. It investigates the case of Bitto cheese, which acquired the PDO in 1996 with the result of enlarging the production area beyond the valleys originally producing this cheese. The producers based in the original production areas subsequently formed their own association and aimed to differentiate the Bitto cheese they made following local traditions of their valleys from the Bitto cheese made in the enlarged production area under the PDO. The article explores communication and linguistic issues in differentiating the two "categories" of this cheese by reviewing the purposes of geographical indications and then investigating the way this particular product, its history and local traditions are represented in texts in English and Italian in tourist materials, on websites for associations of producers, and in the press.