Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta
Olive growing in Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta seemed impossible until a few decades ago, but today it is a consolidated and associated reality, thanks to climate change and some daring farmers.
History
Piemonte is the second largest region of Italy, with 43% of the mountainous territory, 30% hilly, famous for viticulture, and the remaining flat part. Here the story tells of a flourishing olive-growing past in the foothills and the Po river valley, which from the ancient Romans (in the Biella area) continued until the great frost of 1789 which decreed the abandonment and closure of the oil mills.
Valle d’Aosta is the smallest region in Italy, enclosed by the Alps, with ideal climatic and pedological conditions for growing grapes.
Technical contents
These two regions not only have in common the vine and the highest peaks in Europe (Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa) but also a project born on October 15, 2003 in Vialfrè, Turin, called the Piedmontese Olive Growers Association (ASSPO) strongly wanted by pioneers of cultivation in Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta.
“The olive growing area that includes the two regions has more than 250,000 olive trees, most of which were planted from the 2003-2004 season, and 4 oil mills located in the Piedmont area.
In addition to Leccino and Frantoio, and pollinators such as Moraiolo and Pendolino, also the Leccio del Corno, Brisighella, Borgiona, Grignàn and varieties of north-eastern Italy and Croatia such as Bianchera and Drobnica, and the Carolea, widespread in the south of our peninsula , they can be grown well and with a good yield “.
Source: Dario Martinelli from the interview with Ylenia Granitto in 2018
Overall, the olive grove agricultural area does not exceed 150 hectares, approximately 0.01 of the national total, various projects have been carried out by the Department of Agriculture of the University of Turin to understand which varieties are best suited to the climates of Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta.
Although the total production is still limited, the latest harvests in Valle d’Aosta and Piemonte have given excellent results in terms of volumes and quality, thanks to the ideal weather conditions.
Sources
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