Il formaggio (cheese) is rarely missing from an Italian kitchen. This video takes us to the mountains north of Bergamo where the Monaci family has kept the family cheese-making tradition going, beginning in the stable where the cows are taken care of during the colder months.

Lo stracchino is a soft, mild but flavorful cheese that's spreadable, and we find it in supermarkets all over Italy. But the kind Francesca's family produces in the mountains, with traditional tools, is on a whole other level. Why is this cheese called stracchino? There is a fascinating reason. Watch the video.

The fine white mold that forms on the cheese helps give it its characteristic flavor, but it is also painstakingly scraped off each round. Before the high-altitude pastures are ready for grazing, humans take advantage of the snow and the trails.

Here and there in the small villages of the valley, there are interesting frescos hearalding back to earlier times. Two local recipes are offered: stuffed curly cabbage leaves and Taragna polenta, a kind of cornmeal with the addition of buckwheat.

In the Brembana Valley, the river reigns supreme. In fact, there is still a functioning water mill for grinding corn, as well as people passionate about maintaining centuries-old traditions.

We meet some very charming donkeys and hear about how Francantonio and his sons developed a passion for them.

The ancient via Priula leads us to the mountains where we visit a herbal laboratory, in which flowers and plants are transformed into beauty products using historical recipes.

We move on to Valtorta a spot where cheese is king. Here, they produce a special little cylindrical cheese called an agrì, exclusive to this spot. In fact, Slow Food, an organization that's become international but which began in Italy, has it as one of its special products.

Fiorella Mannoia sings her 1987 hit song about women. It's a recent live performance and the audience sings along with Mannoia.

It's Pisa. A group of university students living in an apartment together have made a home video of the place, which is a mess, partly due to clogged sinks. Their stay is almost at its end and they're taking stock.

The group goes grocery shopping for their party, but on the way back, Ilaria wants to make a stop. Nobody knows why, or what she plans to do and the situation gets out of hand.

As they make pasta with whatever scraps of food are left in the fridge, the group discusses Ilaria's predicament, which turns out to be worse than they imagined.

The group has to figure out the final accounts for the apartment, including some very expensive phone bills they wonder about. Later, they talk about the future and where they think they will end up.

Despite the late hour, Vincenzo suggests going to see their friend Michele before they all go off to different destinations.

At the spot where the accident had occurred, the friends wonder how it could have happened since Michele was such a good, careful driver.