Río Deva Opens a Museum of Liébana’s Cheese Tradition
Río Deva’s museum presents the relationship between milk, cheese and life in Liébana, a comarca at the foot of the Picos de Europa. The family business has made cheese in the area for 40 years, after being founded by Juan Carlos Martínez and María del Carmen. Their son, Ander, now runs the enterprise and guides visitors through the exhibition.
The visit places the surrounding landscape at the centre of the story. From the premises, visitors can see the eastern massif of the Picos de Europa while learning about the role of livestock farming and dairy processing in the valleys. The museum states that cheesemaking in Liébana’s villages dates back more than a millennium and has been passed between generations.
One section recreates an old cheese cellar and explains the traditional production of picón cheese in Tresviso, a speciality historically associated with the Picos de Europa. The project received support from Cantabria’s Regional Ministry of Rural Development and the Leader programme.
The collection includes tools gathered by the family over several decades. They relate to milking, the treatment of milk and older methods for separating fat, producing cream and making butter. Other displays cover livestock activity in the Áliva mountain pastures and the smoked cheeses once produced by residents of villages near the Duje river.
Rather than presenting the objects without context, the route explains how dairy production shaped everyday life before current systems were introduced. Its final section moves to the present day, showing the operation of a modern cheese workshop and the way inherited knowledge is used alongside newer technologies and production methods. Historical photographs trace the change from artisanal preparation to contemporary cheesemaking, while visitors can also see a ripening and maturation cellar and the range currently made by Río Deva.
Río Deva produces about a dozen products and has selected six cheeses for a tasting at the end of the visit. The sequence begins with a fresh Pido-style cheese, followed by Quesucos de Liébana Tres Leches and a goat’s-milk variety. It continues with Las Cumbres del Deva, made from sheep’s milk, and a goat’s cheese with spices, before ending with Azuluco, a blue cheese made from cow’s milk. Wines, cider and juices from producers in the comarca accompany the tasting, which takes place with views of the Picos de Europa.
