Stracchino also known as crescenza is a type of Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 cow’s-milk cheese, typical of Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

, Piedmont

Piedmont

Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...

, and Veneto

Veneto

Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

. It is eaten very young, has no rind and a very soft, creamy texture and normally a mild and delicate flavour. It is normally square in form.

The name of the cheese derives from the Italian word "stracca", meaning "tired". It is said that the milk from tired cows coming down from in the autumn from the alpine pastures, is richer in fats and more acidic. These qualities were discovered, according to legend, in the milk of cows who were moved seasonally, up and down the Alps to different pastures. The milk of such cows gives the cheese its characteristic flavors.

Stracchino is usually eaten on its own, but in Recco

Recco

Recco is a comune in the province of Genoa, region of Liguria, Italy. It is known for its focaccia al formaggio which is made with Crescenza. The consortium that dictates the official recipe of the focaccia, supposedly the result of a Saracen attack in the 1200s, is seeking the European Union PGI...

 on the Ligurian riviera

Italian Riviera

The Italian Riviera, or Ligurian Riviera is the narrow coastal strip which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines...

 east of Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

 it is used as the filing for focaccia

Focaccia

Focaccia is a flat oven-baked Italian bread, which may be topped with herbs or other ingredients. It is related to pizza, but not considered to be the same....

 col formaggio, and in Romagna

Romagna

Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west...

 (portion of the Emilia Romagna region) and elsewhere (north portion of Marche region, Umbria and east portion of Tuscany) in piadina

Piadina

Piadina or Piada is a thin Italian flatbread, typically prepared in the Romagna region . It is usually made with white flour, lard , salt and water...

.