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The olive tree has accompanied human history for a very long time. Fossils in North Africa dating from 12,000 BC as well as numerous cave paintings in the Sahara, in Spain and Crete show the olive tree. There is uncertainty however as to its true origin. It is presumed to originate from Asia Minor, i.e. between the Caucasus, the Iranian plateau and the Syrian and Palestinian coasts.

The contemporary olive tree (Olea europea) comes from the wild species Oleaster, of which petrified leaves have been found. These archaeological findings indicate that the wild form was probably cultivated in Crete and Syria around 6,000 BC for its fertile olive-oil, and spread from there throughout the Mediterranean region. In Apulia, the first oil producingolive trees appeared as early as the Neolithic period (New Stone Age) around 5,000 BC. They were discovered south of Bari in today’s Torre a Mare and north of Brindisi near Fasano. These discoveries indicate that oil and olives may already have been part of mankind’s food at that time.

In Egypt, the secret of the olive tree was disclosed to man by the goddess Isis, mother of the Earth (called Demeter in Greek). Olive oil was considered to be liquid gold at the time and was mainly used in beauty care. The Egyptians already knew many applications of it, including producing soap. Greek mythology asserts however that Athena planted the first olive tree. Its fruit would offer a wonderful juice to mankind, yielding food, healing, body care, light and warmth. The olive tree was a sanctuary for the Greeks. Anyone who damaged or uprooted it was sent into exile. The Romans took over these myths and uses from the Greeks and started to cultivate olive trees on a systematic basis as well as to distribute olive oil for commercial purposes.

In the Middle Ages, olive oil was still used as a remedy or a medicine for all strata of the population, but in Europe the olive tree was associated with heretical religions from the Mediterranean (Judaism, Islam, etc.) and therefore lost some of its cultural value. The olive groves disappeared almost completely, only a few olive trees were cultivated in Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries. Today, increasingly higher value is given to the olive tree and to olive oil, as research and analysis have repeatedly proven olive oil offers many benefits to the well-being of man. These benefits have been attributed to it since ancient times.

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It is presumed the name Messapii or Messapians means 'people between two seas', because they settled in today's Salento, between the Adriatic and Ionian seas. They merged with the existing population and founded the first cities, e.g. Brention/Brentesion (Brindisi), Kaìlia (Ceglie Messapica), Mandyrion (Manduria), Orra (Oria), Gnathia (Egnazia), Carbina (Carovigno) and Sturnium (Ostuni), while introducing their traditions, ways and customs. According to Herodotus, the Greek historian, the Messapii were a compact, unified people that originated from the Cretans. He even associated them with the mythical King Minos of Crete

The economy of the Messapii was based on agricultural production, including olives (very similar to wild olives at the time), wine, pulses and vegetables on the one hand, and trade on the other hand. Centuries before the Romans and the Greeks (about 3,000 years ago), this ancient people began to transform the wild olive tree into a cultivated plant in several regions of Apulia. This plant was much more productive, and valuable oil could be obtained from its olives. Since the 7th century BC, the first systematic planting of today's olive tree was documented in Apulia.

Also the Roman agronomist Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (1st century AD) gave an account of the state of agricultural knowledge and economy at the time, in his work 'De Re Rustica'. He mentioned a plateau north of today's Brindisi where the 'salentina' olive was grown, which is currently equated with the autochthonous Ogliarola del Salento. He described the planting technique with regular rows and the olive trees at distances of 60 feet (18 metres), which is precisely what we can still see in the old olive groves along the Roman Via Traiana. He also described the size and circumference of the trees, which indicates he discovered trees that were already centuries old in Roman times.

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On the 'Piana degli ulivi millenari', the plateau of millennia-old olive trees along the ancient Roman Via Traiana which was constructed in 109 AD and led to Brindisi, there are countless historical masserie (farmhouses) with underground oil-presses from Messapian-Roman times. The vicinity of the Via Traiana facilitated transport of the 'liquid gold' and stimulated trade with the Orient, and economic development and the evolution of the landscape in this zone of Apulia. Many of these underground presses remained in operation until the middle of the 18th century. From then onwards, more practical and more productive presses were being constructed above ground. The underground oil-press is, however, a testimony of the millennia-old cultivation of olives. As a particular feature of agricultural development, like the olive tree, it is part of the agricultural landscape of Apulia.

In order to protect this historical and anthropological heritage as well as to combat illegal planting and commercialization, the Regional Council of Apulia adopted the first and only Italian law in 2007 (Regional Law No 14 laying down the 'Protection and enhancement of monumental olive groves in Apulia'). In addition, the centuries-old and millennia-old monumental olive trees were labelled with numbered tags and their location was pinpointed by means of GPS data and registered.

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The olive is an evergreen tree that thrives well particularly in maritime climates. It likes the hot and dry Mediterranean climate and does not like high humidity. It lives to an extremely old age and grows well especially on limestone soils. Apulia is a karstic limestone area and has a highly ferrous soil. The red earth and Apulia's position, almost like a peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea, are ideal for the cultivation of olives.

Moreover, the development of the olive tree requires specific thermal conditions. During flowering, at the end of May or beginning of June, the olive may not be exposed to temperatures below 10° Celsius (50° F); neither to temperatures below 15° Celsius (59° F) during the formation of the fruit and during ripening (change in colour from yellow-green to dark blue), also in order to allow the tree to complete the full ripening cycle. During harvest, the temperature should not be less than 5° Celsius (41° F).

Most varieties of olives cultivated in Apulia can be qualified as autochthonous on the basis of their being biologically and specifically adapted. All varieties having developed special characteristics in relation to soil, climate and method of cultivation, they are the result of a specific individual selection of hardy, vigorous plants. Generations of grafting and pruning experts helped to pass on a craftsmanship that is not described anywhere, as well as to shape a type of olive tree that is unique to Apulia.

The most common local varieties are part of the Ogliarole group and are named after the various Apulian geographic areas: Bari Ogliarola, Cima di Bitonto, Paisana, Cima di Mola and Ogliarola Salento. Next, there are varieties such as Peranzana, Coratina, Cima di Melfi and Cellina di Nardò.

Olive oil from Apulia is known for its intense, fruity and sharp taste, which is determined first of all by the grown varieties. It evokes a cool green and fruity olive flavour, while also being remarkably bitter and in the throat often very sharp, as if it were chilli oil. Freshly pressed and unfiltered, it is bright green and does not have anything in common with the oil one usually finds on the market.

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We harvest the olives already starting from the middle of October or the beginning of November and deliberately refrain from getting a higher yield, which would be the case with harvesting later. The olives are removed from the trees by means of mechanical rakes and, for bigger trees, directly from the tree with small rakes and ladders. At the moment of 'invaiatura', the olives are slightly unripe or semi-ripe, so they are partially green and partially blue or black. If we were to wait for the fruit to ripen and let the olives fall to the ground, harvesting would be a lot easier. But the riper the olives, the higher their level of acidity and the poorer their quality and taste. Oil from the semi-ripe fruit has a much fruitier, fresher flavour and has a typical bitter and pungent taste at the time of harvesting.

In order to produce high quality oil, it is vital to choose the less comfortable and more costly way of picking. Only in this way will the olives suffer less damage, because when the skin of the olives is no longer intact, damaging oxidation and fermentation processes occur, diminishing the quality considerably. Another reason for early picking is that the falling of the olives' is induced by an enzyme that has a negative impact on the olive oil’s preservability. To obtain a high quality olive oil, we bring the freshly picked olives to the oil-press on the same day. They are then turned into oil by purely mechanical processes within no more than 24 hours.

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The olive groves of the ORO MESSAPICO co-partnership are all committed to organic cultivation methods and are spread over different cultivation areas between the Murge Plateau, Apulia's east coast and Salento. This allows us to select for each of our oils the olives that are optimum for the respective oil, thanks to the location of the trees and climatic conditions. As a general rule, all our olive oils are pure products of nature, obtained from sun, water and a lot of passion! To us, natural means without any use of chemical products, even not those allowed in organic farming. Who knows us, also knows that we only use organic products as a fertiliser for the olive trees and where possible the manure of our long-ears, who exclusively live on organic fodder.