Italian commune's 1,319.5-pound block of cheese breaks Guinness record

July 21 (UPI) -- An Italian community captured a Guinness World Record when cheese-makers created a wheel of pecorino weighing in at 1,319.5 pounds.

The commune of Loculi, on the island of Sardinia, assembled the cheese on May 12, 2019, and the cheese was seasoned for 12 months before being officially examined by a Guinness adjudicator.

The massive pecorino was declared to be the largest cheese made from sheep's milk, beating a 1,178.8-pound block of pecorino made in Ascoli Piceno, in Italy's Le Marche region, in 2009.

"The cheese was made with traditional methods and, above and beyond the record, it was a chance to rediscover the local area's artisan skills and food culture," Anna Pitzalis, who designed the wooden wheel holding the record-breaking cheese, told ANSA.