Pliny the Elder, in his major encyclopaedic work
Naturalis Historia, describes several stages in the production of
pecorino toscano, which he names as
Lunense, apparently after the territory of
Lunigiana. Other early names of the cheese include
marzolino, after the month of March (
marzo in Italian) in which production traditionally began. Today, this style of pecorino is widely produced across Tuscany and also in several nearer districts of
Umbria and
Lazio regions. ==Production==