The Riviera Ligure Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) Extra Virgin Olive Oil production area extends across the entire territory of Liguria. Olive cultivation rises from the coastal area ...
... up to accessible heights.
MurettiOriginal Source: Consorzio per la Tutela dell’Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva DOP Riviera Ligure
After the fall of the Roman Empire, olive growing continued alongside the cultivation of other crops. Liguria provided an ideal climate for production, with good economic prospects. This led to a vast phenomenon of olive tree planting, which only ended in the nineteenth century.
Steep slopes were reclaimed for plantation, contained by millions of cubic metres of dry stone walls, locally known as “maxèi”, which still mark the “strips” where the olive trees grow.
BollettaOriginal Source: Consorzio per la Tutela dell’Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva DOP Riviera Ligure
Documents such as the Bill of Lading for “two barrels and ten skins of fine oil” of 18 February 1796 show how the oil was transported in barrels or goat skin flasks. In this particular instance, permission is granted to a “leudo” (cargo boat) called “L’Immacolata Concezione” belonging to the ship-owner Gio Lamberto.
The load is for transport from Diano, at the end of a valley planted with olive trees, to the merchant Domenico Forzano in Savona: the markets of large cities were supplied.
The olive groves are on hillsides with medium and steep gradients, arranged mainly in terraces, the soil of which derives from the decomposition of the limestone bedrock.
UliviOriginal Source: Consorzio per la Tutela dell’Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva DOP Riviera Ligure
The terracing of the olive groves allows the otherwise fragile terrain, prone to landslides, to be preserved.
Where the olive groves are well cultivated, the land is stable.
Fiori ulivoOriginal Source: Consorzio per la Tutela dell’Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva DOP Riviera Ligure
[An olive tree in blossom]
UliviOriginal Source: Consorzio per la Tutela dell’Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva DOP Riviera Ligure
The olives are picked by hand or with small machinery that has minimal impact.
Nets are spread under the trees and the branches are beaten with wooden poles or with the more modern combs and electric or compressed-air shakers.
[Olives in a net]
The harvested olives are taken to the mill on the same day for processing into oil.
CernitaOriginal Source: Consorzio per la Tutela dell’Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva DOP Riviera Ligure
The removal of the leaves from the olives before taking them to the mill is a Ligurian ritual, performed at dusk.
Pulizia oliveOriginal Source: Consorzio per la Tutela dell’Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva DOP Riviera Ligure
Continuous-cycle oil mills allow a higher quality product to be produced.
The pressing must be well calibrated in relation to the typical characteristics of Ligurian olives, which are generally small, but with a very high final yield.
In the eighteenth century, girls were brought from other areas of Liguria, Piedmont and Emilia to help with the olive harvest. These were known as “sciascieline” and their arrival was an opportunity for the local boys, who would organise genuine feasts and often ended up marrying them.
Curator—Consorzio per la Tutela dell'Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva DOP Riviera Ligure
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