OLIVE OIL HISTORY

Olive trees came originally from the lands of greater Syria (nearly six thousand years ago) before spreading to the rest of the Mediterranean basin. The first official documentation regarding olive trees and oil production was found in the archives of the ancient city-state of Ebla in modern Syria. It consists of almost 12 documents, dated 2400 BC, describing lands in the property of the king and the queen concerning olive tree plantations. The archive sites 4000 jars of olive oil being held for the royal family and staff and 7000 jars for the people. The cultivation of olive trees even preceded writing. The olive culture, derived from the benefits of olive oil, and the mythology linked to it, spread through the Phoenicians to Greece, and from Greece to Rome, and then to the rest of the Western world. In the past few hundred years, the growth of the olive has spread to the Americas, Japan, Australia, and South Africa. Nevertheless, around 95 percent of all olive oil still spills from the rim of the Mediterranean. Ancestral devotion to the olive tree has carried down to later generations converting many into olive oil aficionados. The Mediterranean world has regarded the olive as sacred for thousands of years. In many religions and cultures throughout history, the olive tree has served some purpose and has been a symbol of peace, life, and fertility. Ebla, the first civilization proven to have known olive oil, offered the golden liquid to their gods. Later, the ancient Egyptians credited the Goddess Isis with teaching mankind its cultivation and wisdom. The Pharaohs also used olive oil to aid in building the pyramids. During modern excavations of Egyptian tombs, containers of olive oil were found among the graves. The Greeks believed that Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, bestowed the olive on mankind thereby winning a contest between the Gods for presenting the most useful gift. In Ancient Greece, athletes used olive oil to rub over their bodies. The first Olympic torch was a burning olive branch.

An evocative description of the region of Abruzzo focuses on its traditional bonds with sheep farming and its products, but the area is equally famous for its olive groves. Olive oil and sheep farming share the same cultural, social and historical roots: over the centuries, generations of farmers in Abruzzo have developed similar customs, habits and necessities. An average annual production of approximately 28,000 tons of oil, mainly extra virgin, makes Abruzzo the fifth producing region in Italy and undoubtedly represents one of its most interesting area both for dedication to production and for quality. In regards to the agricultural economy of the region, olive growing is one of the most representative sectors and it is clearly visible to the naked eye that even the landscape has been influenced by its importance. In Abruzzo the distribution of olive tree is quite vast and constitutes a band that rises to over 600 meters above sea level, stretching from gently sloping coastal hills up to more impervious realities of Gran Sasso and Maiella foot-hills. In such context it is easy to observe a variety of olive growing systems since farmers organize their businesses into differents types of cultivation and because pedoclimatic parameters had also their weight in agrometric decisions.

Currently in the Abruzzo territory, the greater part of the regional olive production is concentrated mainly in three varieties (cultivar) like Leccino, Dritta and Gentile di Chieti, that constitute the basis for numerous other varieties of minor importance or extremely localized cultivation like Toccolana, Castiglionese, Intosso, Cucco, Ghiandaro, Nebbio di Chieti and Tortiglione. Varieties imported from other regions such as Frantoio, Moraiolo and Carboncella are present almost exclusively in the province of Teramo.

Abruzzo holds three of the twenty Italian DOPs, under the names of:

- Aprutino Pescarese D.O.P.
- Colline Teatine D.O.P.
- Pretuziano delle Colline Teramane D.O.P.