History of extra virgin olive oil in Liguria

Olive trees in Liguria

Steep terraces supported by dry-stone walls and clad in olive trees. Liguria is an icon of the Mediterranean olive-growing traditions and landscapes and a rising star of oleotourism. The region's paedo-climatic conditions and millenary farming know-how foster the production of gentle, delicate EVOs. 

Olive oil and Roman Liguria: the Varignano villa

Archaeology and literature witness the importance of olive oil production in the Greek and Roman world. “There are two liquids that are especially agreeable to the human body, wine inside and oil outside (…), but oil an absolute necessity,” wrote Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia.

Oil was produced in vast and organised rural settlements called villae. The Varignano area on the eastern Ligurian coast near La Spezia boasts a 2,000-year-old oil mill (torcularium), set close to the pars fructuaria (the productive area) of the villa, complete with two oil presses and an open-air-cell (its millstone missing). Stocked in parallel rows of dolia (earthenware vessels) half-buried in the ground, oil was poured into amphorae and loaded on carriages, ready for sale. The complex included a vast olive grove in a dry, safe, and scenic position, sheltered by wind and overwhelming heat.

Olive growing in Liguria in the Early Middle Ages: the Taggiasca conquest

The Varignano villa demonstrates the presence of olive trees in Liguria long before monks, on their way back from the Holy Land, introduced the taggiasca cultivar. Furthermore, archaeology revealed the presence of olea pollen in Liguria since 3,000 B.C. In Roman Liguria olive trees sided arable land and provided lost, yet evocatively named, fruits - pausia, regia, liciniana, orchite, sergia. The Fall of the Roman Empire was a severe blow for olive growing and viniculture; yet, during the Early Middle Ages, Benedictine monks from the isle of Tino took care of the Varignano complex – monasteries thrived with excellent botanists, apothecaries, and scholars, whom we owe the perpetuation of farming know-how.

Ligurian olive growing today: the role of Riviera Ligure DOP EVO

Ligurian oil started to flourish in the Late Middle Ages – and still does today, despite the steepness of cropland and the neglect of agriculture. The celebrated RivieraLigure DOP (i.e. PDO, Protected Designation of Origin) is a tribute to local farmers, lovingly defined by gastronome Gino Veronelli as the “angeli matti” (mad angels). Their hard work patiently shaped a vertical olive growing landscape of dry-stone walls and tilled terraces, the treasure trove of preböggion wild herbs mix.

Regional cultivars include the taggiasca, small, black, delicately tasting as well as olives grown only for oil (arnasca, colombaia, lantesca, merlina, mortina, negrea, olivotto, pignola, rondino), and table olives (castelnovina, lavagnina, liccione, prempesa, razzola and the aforementioned taggiasca).

Ligurian olives: an array of cultivars

The PDO (est. 1997) features 3 subareas of production. The EVO from the Riviera dei Fiori subarea is a delicate yellow, scenting (and tasting) of artichokes and almonds, a well-balanced mix of sweetness and mellowness. The Riviera del Ponente savonese subarea features a light yellow EVO with greenish hues, its nose fruitier, pleasantly bitter and pungent on the palate, sometimes with apple hints.

The Riviera di Levante subarea EVO, golden yellow (greenish tones), fresh - grass and artichokes - at the nose, fluid, smooth, balanced, pungent, tasting of grass, artichokes and almonds.

Ligurian EVOs, the kings of the cuisine of the Italian Riviera

Liguria’s paedo-climatic conditions and millenary farming know-how foster the production of gentle, delicate EVOs, their fruit elegant and fresh, with neat notes of artichokes, dried fruit… The ideal match of light salads, octopus and potatoes, seafood pasta, vegetable pureed soup, and light preparations based on fish or white meat.

Liguria and oleotourism: the start of a beautiful friendship

History, heritage, traditions, landscapes, Mediterranean atmospheres, quality EVOs, renowned cuisine, and opportunities for all year-round tourism experiences. The Italian Riviera boasts all the ingredients for successful progress in oleotourism.

My English abstract of the "Appunti per una storia dell'olio in Liguria" article by Umberto Curti, Liguria Food. Click here and read full version (in Italian).  Originally uploaded on March 19th, 2018, edited on September 11, 2023.

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