If you look towards the rocky landscapes and the green of the countryside that surrounded the city of Ostuni you can come across a wide expanse of ancient olive trees. About 72 hectares of olive groves surrounds our Masseria Il Frantoio, which since 2004 we converted to organic cultivations, producing 4 different quality organic extra virgin olive oil:
These imposing trees whose trunks seem carved by the expert hand of some local artist, are the primary source of an oil with a unique taste, which has become a symbol of Puglia.
Walking through the meadows of these ancient olive groves, you can come across even in herbs and plant species typical of Mediterranean scrub and an environment of extensive agricultural and semi-natural, rich in organic raw materials that are culinary heritage of Puglia. Even within the Masseria il Frantoio, these delicacies are collected and cooked in a creative way to enrich our dishes, although the organic oil maintains its place of honor.
Over the years the Apulia region and the same farms of Puglia, have promoted a number of initiatives to protect and promote these landscapes and its typical olive groves, as well sensitizing the population to become more accepting slow food and organic. This is the case for example of our Masseria Il Frantoio that with the project “Adopt an olive tree” aims to preserve the life of these trees imaginatively through a certificate of adoption and 30 liters of extra virgin olive oil donated in honor as symbolic production of the shaft.
Someone has called them “titans” in honor of the giants in the stories narrated in the wake of a tradition imprinted on the lands that faced along the Mediterranean sea. These titans of our countryside, imposing and majestic, line the Salento countryside and bring to life stories taken from a Greek mythology. They are ancient plants from which the farmers produce extra virgin olive oil, yellow gold prince of our tables. The same oil that in the past had enjoyed even Roman and Messapi.
We do not know the exact age of these trees, because to do that we should cut them and count the rings inside the trunk. But what we do know with certainty is that these vigorous trees, thanks to the strong constitution of their DNA, have managed to survive the bad weather, dry summers, and ages of history.
Centuries-old olive trees that could tell endless stories, but that by their silence are able to express much more than words. If, therefore, you’ll want to spend your holidays in Puglia and in the Itria Valley, in addition to the Baroque churches and the bright blue sea, you can admire the unique landscape of Salento characterized by these patriarchs timeless witness the vicissitudes of life and the passing of time and which enrich our dishes an incomparable flavor.