Strong-flavored Pecorino sheep cheese is seasoned inside a maze of underground tunnels and grottos that make up Europe’s biggest and most spectacular antinuclear bunker, built by Mussolini. It was dug into the bowels of Mount Soratte, a stunning promontory rising in the Tiber Valley. The hill, sacred to the ancient Romans and later home to hermits, is dotted with old chapels, healing fountains and fossils. Soldiers’ graffiti and paintings decorate the bunker walls where cheese shapes are stacked.

The Alpine region of Alto adige, at the Austrian border, is dotted with abandoned war bunkers camouflaged by a lush vegetation growing over them. They’re hard to spot. This one, hidden in a dense forest, has been brought back to life by a local cheese refiner. The bunker’s humidity, darkness and constant cool temperature of its many cells make it the perfect place to season all types of cheeses, even those made with chocolate, chili peppers, seaweed and fruits.

The salty, tender Castelgrotta cheese is seasoned below a hilltop castle with marble floors in the picturesque town of Schio, near Lake Garda. The underground grotto, dug by early men and used as a prison in the middle ages, was later turned into a military bunker for soldiers to hide in. Surrounded by a park, guided visits include a panoramic walk to admire as well the outside view.

Biological cheeses, made by local dairy farms and seasoned inside this underground military barrack, can be tasted during festivities. It extends for one kilometer underneath a tiny hill and features the ruins of a crumbly fortification. Exploring the bunker offers a trip across time, back to the prehistoric ages when cave men inhabited this fertile patch of the Canale Valley overlooking snowy Alpine peaks dotted with sleepy peasant cottages and grazing sheep.

Long shelves of fine mountain cheese line the dripping wet grey bunker walls, oozing out fresh mountain spring water. The rocky undergrounds, where Italian troops took refuge during the second world war, are used as exclusive venues for cocktails, cheese tastings and intimate dinners for up to 20 people with artisan beers and local apple juices. Spotlights enhance the scenery and experience.