No longer just food and wine tourism: oleotourism is born
For a few years now, alongside food and wine tourism, oleotourism has also been gaining ground, and Italy has played a pioneering role in its development at European level.
Oleotourism is a specific form of food and wine tourism that focuses on the production of olive oil and the traditions linked to it. Those who take an oleotourism tour therefore have the chance to enjoy an experience that leads them to discover the secrets of oil, to taste high-quality samples, and to immerse themselves in the culture and customs of the world of olive growing.
The importance of the spread of this new form of tourism, however, also lies in its ability to protect and enhance the great variety of olive trees and oil that distinguishes our country, helping to preserve its biodiversity.
At a time when the agri-food industry tends to homogenise gastronomic products and standardise production processes, oleotourism therefore represents a way to rediscover the roots of our food culture and to promote high-quality local produce.
Although for several years some producers of extra virgin olive oil have begun, somewhat quietly, to open the doors of their farms to visitors, we can say that the official birth date of oleotourism is 2019.
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It was in that year’s Budget Law, in fact, that “oleotourism” was defined, consisting, in short, of activities to learn about olive oil carried out at the place of production, visits to the places of cultivation, tastings, and educational and recreational initiatives on oil (art. 1, paragraphs 513 and 514, Budget Law 2019).
Since then, oleotourism has spread across Europe, becoming an increasingly popular form of tourism among lovers of good food and gastronomic culture. In particular, Spain, Greece and Croatia, the largest European oil producers along with Italy, have followed suit, giving rise to numerous oleotourism initiatives and helping to make it a well-known and widespread phenomenon.
Among the most popular oleotourism activities are guided visits to farms, during which visitors can watch the olives being harvested, pressed and the oil filtered; tasting workshops, in which different types of oil are sampled and participants learn to recognise their organoleptic characteristics; and, finally, activities to research and promote traditional olive-growing methods. But let us look at some concrete examples.
The Venafro Olive Oil Regional Park
Among the most active places in promoting our olive-growing traditions is undoubtedly the Venafro Olive Oil Regional Park, near Isernia, in Molise (Parco Regionale Olivo di Venafro). It is the first protected area in Italy dedicated to the olive tree, and represents a unicum at European level.
Olive growing in Venafro, in fact, has been practised for millennia! And that is no figure of speech: it was the ancient Romans who began this activity, as the Latin poet Pliny the Elder bears witness, praising in one of his writings the fine quality of the precious nectar of Molise.
Not a bad legacy, then, which the establishment of the protected area has helped to preserve and promote. The activities that the Park Authority carries out throughout the year to keep this millennia-old tradition alive are varied: alongside the more usual ones, a constant focus on research and on the protection of traditional olive-growing techniques stands out.
To this end, Venolea was created, an oil and olive tree festival held every year, involving the Park Authority and dozens of olive growers and craftspeople from the area. Initiatives such as these have allowed a territory, neglected for years, to be reborn through the protection and promotion of biodiversity and traditional farming culture.
The Venafro Olive Oil Regional Park is, ultimately, a magical place where nature, history and tradition blend together, creating a unique and evocative atmosphere.
The olive oil routes in Puglia
The olive oil routes in Puglia are a true treasure to discover for lovers of extra virgin olive oil. They are itineraries mostly to be followed by bicycle, which allow visitors to discover the places where the oil is produced, to taste different varieties and to immerse themselves in the local culture linked to olive growing.
The routes follow the ancient trade routes, also known as the “oil roads”, which were used in the past to transport goods and foodstuffs, including the prized Puglian oil.
One of the most famous is the Via Traiana, named after the Roman emperor Trajan. Built in the 2nd century AD, it linked Benevento to Brindisi and made it possible to export the oil produced in the Puglian countryside across the Mediterranean.
Even today, the Via Traiana is a fascinating route that allows you to immerse yourself in the history and traditions of the region. Along the Roman road it is possible, in fact, to visit the many olive groves that line it, taking oleotourism tours.
Oleotourism, ultimately, allows us to rediscover our land, promoting sustainable practices linked to the roots of our food culture and capable of preserving the biodiversity of our peninsula. All that remains, therefore, is to hope that it will spread more and more, for a more local and greener future.
