L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano O l i v e o i l i s a staple of the M e d i t e r - r a n e a n d i e t a n d a m o n g the healthiest ingredients you can keep in your pantry. It is also a symbol of Made in Italy around the world a n d a r e a s o n o f n a t i o n a l p r i d e : i n d e e d , I t a l y p r o - d u c e s a n a v e r a g e o f 500,000 tons of olive oil each year, an amount that places it steadily among the three largest producers in Europe. But it isn't only a matter of quantity but also of quality, if we think that 2/3 of our olive oil is guar- a n t e e d b y e i t h e r a D O P (Denominazione di Origine P r o t e t t a ) o r I G P ( I n d i - cazione Geografica Tipica) denomination, both recog- nized by the EU. Believe it or not, olive oil production is ubiquitous in the country, as it is present i n 1 8 o f o u r 2 0 r e g i o n s , i n c l u d i n g t h o s e y o u w o u l d n ' t e x p e c t , l i k e Lombardia (on Lake Garda) and Friuli Venezia-Giulia. But it isn't only a matter of economy and food, it's also a m a t t e r o f l a n d s c a p e : with more than 150 million olive trees distributed over almost 1.2 million hectares, the silvery green of their leaves remains one of the most beautiful and typical c o l o r s o f a t r u l y I t a l i a n palette. A history as ancient as civilization Yes, olive oil: the green gold of the Mare Nostrum, t h e k i n g o f t h e Mediterranean Triad, the most common yet most pre- c i o u s i n g r e d i e n t o f o u r kitchens. Its history is as ancient as that of civiliza- tion itself, with the earliest attestations of its use dating b a c k t o 4 0 0 0 B C i n A r m e n i a , P a l e s t i n e a n d India: it was used to nourish and protect the skin, but also as fuel for oil lamps and as a medicine. Two millen- nia later, in 2500 BC, olive oil production was already in full swing, as demonstrat- ed by the fact its trade was mentioned in and regulated b y t h e C o d e o f Hammurabi, the earliest s e t o f l a w s k n o w n t o Humankind. Olive trees and olive oil, GIULIA FRANCESCHINI h o w e v e r , r e a c h e d t h e Mediterranean thanks to t h e G r e e k s , w h o a l s o brought it to the South of Italy, which they had made t h e i r s , c a l l i n g i t M a g n a Graecia. Then the Romans, some time later, expanded t h e c u l t i v a t i o n t o a l l t h e areas of the Empire where climate was gentle enough for the olive tree to grow. Our feisty ancestors under- stood the immense value of olive oil, so much so they invested time and used their i n g e n u i t y t o i m p r o v e i t s p r o d u c t i o n , a n d w o u l d demand tax payments to be made with it; it was them who brought this precious, fragrant liquid to the lands of Northern Europe and it was again them who classi- fied it on the basis of how olives were pressed. But with the fall of the Empire, the olive tree lost impor- tance and its cultivation met with centuries of neglect. During the late Middle Ages, the most fertile lands were used for cereals, but for the olive tree, too: the budding trading bourgeoisie of those centuries under- s t o o d o l i v e o i l m e a n t wealth. By the 15 th century, Italy was the largest produc- er of olive oil in the world, in spite of the fact we had begun using butter and ani- mal fats in our cuisine a lot. I n t h e R e n a i s s a n c e , t h e know-how of Cistercian and Benedictine monks kept our o l i v e - g r o w i n g t r a d i t i o n alive. In the 18 th century, the glorious season of Baroque, our botanists began classify- ing all varieties of olives in our country, depending on their geographical origin. In the meanwhile, olive oil had become one of Italy's main p r o d u c t s , k n o w n a c r o s s E u r o p e f o r i t s t a s t e a n d plethora of uses: it was in t h e s e d e c a d e s t h a t s o m e Italian regions, especially in ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES Continued to page 22 Italy is among the three largest producers of olive oil in Europe (Photo: Angelo Chiariello/Dreamstime) Fresh olives, just picked from the tree (Photo: Georgios Tsichlis/Dreamstime) Italy's love story with olive oil, from North to South

• Cover