Umbria
If there is an evocative product of the environmental, tourist and productive image of Umbria, it is undoubtedly the olive tree.
History
In these territories the first to practice olive growing were the Etruscans and many Umbrian cities gravitating in the orbit of ancient Etruria got rich and prospered thanks to the production and marketing of oil.
Subsequently, olive growing experienced a strong development with the expansion of Roman civilization.
In the first century A.C. oil production in Italy decreased significantly due to low-cost competition from oils from Spain and Africa and Umbria was also affected by imports from other countries, resulting in a weakening of the product on the market of the time. Then, with the barbarian invasions, the complete destruction of traditional agricultural practices took place and wheat, vines and olives were supplanted by other crops.
It will be necessary to wait for the Middle Ages and the great religious congregations to witness a partial resumption of olive growing. The real increase, however, took place starting from 1400 when a decree, which obliged farmers to plant and graft a quota of olive trees annually, made the olive area grow until it reached its maximum size.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, on the other hand, there was a progressive increase in the price of both plants and land with olive trees, an indication of a growing interest in cultivation.
But it is in 1800, thanks above all to incentive measures put in place by the Papal State, that there is a great increase in olive cultivation, up to today with a regional production compared to the national one that stands at around 2%.
Technical contents
The olive grove agricultural area is 27 thousand hectares and corresponds to 6.7% of the regional utilized agricultural area, of which a large part is in the province of Perugia.
A production of 100,000 quintals can be found in these areas in good years. The anthropogenic activity of an agricultural nature that has developed in this context today sees 28,000 producing companies in the region, 213 highly specialized mills in processing
Also present were leading companies in bottling and distribution.
Certifications and Varieties of Olives
The main cultivars are Dolce Agogia, Frantoio, Moraiolo, Leccino, Rajo and San Felice. Other minor varieties are the local Pocciolo and Vocio present in the territories between Assisi and Spoleto, the Tendellone in the Terni area, the Correggiolo di Massa Martana, the Nostrale di Rigali and the Orbetana in Gualdo Tadino, the Borgiona in the Upper Tiber and the Bianchella di Umbertide in the Narnese area.
Umbria was the first Italian region to obtain the establishment of a certified brand, “Dop Umbria”, pursuant to EC Reg. 2081/92.
The reference specification provides for the subdivision of the regional territory into sub-areas that are characterized by the prevalent cultivars and the organoleptic properties of the resulting olive oil.
The five sub-areas, or territorial areas where particular varieties of olive trees are grown, are:
- The “Colli Amerini” constitute the smallest of the sub-areas, where the most representative municipalities are Amelia and Narni. The most characteristic cultivar is the Raio, a long-lived and monumental plant, which gives an oil with marked aromatic qualities.
- The “Colli Orvietani” extend around the town of Orvieto up to and including Marsciano and Città della Pieve. The prevalent cultivars are Leccino and Frantoio. The oil from this part of Umbria is characterized by its great organoleptic balance.
- The “Colli Martani” are located in the central area of Umbria, around the municipalities of Giano dell’Umbria, Gualdo Cattaneo and Bevagna. The characteristic cultivar is the Dolce di San Felice, linked to the Benedictine abbey of the same name.
- The “Colli del Trasimeno” embrace the area of the lake of the same name, upper Umbria and the municipality of Perugia. It is characterized by another interesting native cultivar, the Dolce Agogia.
- The “Colli Assisi Spoleto” is the largest and most difficult to cultivate but also one of the most suggestive from a landscape point of view. It includes the territories of Terni, Spoleto, Trevi, Spello and Assisi, reaching as far as Gubbio. The most characteristic cultivar is the Moraiolo, a slender plant that produces precious fruits rich in polyphenols.
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