A 3,000 year-old olive tree, called Il Grande Vecchio or, “the great elder.” According to our guide, the stones (on the left, supporting the tree), were already there when the family who currently owns the property, bought it in the 1800s! And…this tree still produces olives!
Our tours of the Puglia region, include a day trip to the stunning hill town of Ostuni, universally regarded as an architectural jewel, and commonly referred to as Città Blanca, or “the White Town,” for its white walls and its all-white-painted architecture. The white color – made with white lime – has been used since the Middle Ages for a number of reasons: Most practically, the white color helped to keep the buildings cool, as the white color refracted the intensity of the Mediterranean summer sun. Also, the lime had been an effective disinfectant in the times of common epidemics. And lastly, lime was inexpensive, and readily available in the surrounding hills above the city.
The Puglia region has over 60 million olive trees; was the first producer of Italy’s extra-virgin olive oil; and is the biggest single production region in the world, producing almost one half of all of Italy’s olive oil. To learn more, we visit one of the oldest and most respected olive oil producers, Antica Masseria Brancati, which produces some of the best organic olive oil in all of Puglia. The Brancati family arrived from Venice in the 15th century, but the farm can be traced back to the Roman period. More than 800 of their trees are over 1,000 years old, and a select few are up to 3,000 years old!
During our guided tour, Piero takes us through their small agricultural museum and down into an ancient underground olive press dating back to the Roman period. We are told, that through history, olive oil was considered “liquid gold,” and it was not unusual for the Romans to hide their production facilities from those who might wish to claim them! And finally, we take part in a blind tasting of the family’s best products – intensely fresh, rich, and peppery!
Our day concludes at Michelin-starred, Cielo Restaurant, at the Relais La Sommità Hotel with panoramic views of the Pugliese landscape – a carpet of olive groves!
Looking forward to our next tour of Puglia, Italy’s Undiscovered Southern Coast, in the spring of 2022!