The olive tree does not require deep soil and adapts well to stony and terraced terrains overlooking the sea.
Discover its history in this article while waiting to come and visit us at our Museum of Olive Oil Art .
The olive tree from antiquity to the present day
THE OLIVE TREE, A PLANT THAT NOURISHES
The Olive Tree is the central plant in the history of the civilizations that overlook the Mediterranean. Columella, a Roman writer on agriculture, in his «De Rustica» argued that “Olea prima omnium arborum est” (1st century AD), that is, “The Olive Tree is the first of all trees".
Sacred to Athena (Minerva in the Roman world), because it was a gift from the goddess to men, but also collected at the edge of the world by Hercules in the place that would become the forest consecrated to Zeus, even coming from the Earthly Paradise according to a legend that would have it born on Adam's tomb, buried on Mount Tabor, the olive tree has its roots in the very history of humanity and its meaning is intertwined with popular tales, mythology, poetry and religion.
It is one of the most widespread fruit trees in the world and of the most ancient origin. According to a reliable hypothesis, it comes from the geographical area between Asia Minor and Central Asia, where it was present more than six thousand years ago. The ideal terrain for the growth of the olive tree is identified in the "fertile crescent", that is, the area between the Tigris and the Euphrates which has a particular climatic condition: hot and dry summers, but often humid, and mild and rainy winters
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