Mt. Soratte Olives
Although it is not as ancient as the one producing the oil of Sabina,
already in 1568 the local olive groves produced quality oil, to the
extent that the Architect Vignola, paid in kind for his services,
complained that sometimes he had been given "not very good oil", not
"as in S.to Resto it is usually done".
After three centuries, in
1888, Marquis Canali participated in the Vatican exhibit on the
occasion of the 50th priest ordination of Leone XIII with the oil
coming from the olive groves of Soratte, and he was naturally given the
prize.
The Benedictine monks entrusted to olive groves an essential
role in the local economy and it is not a case that the cornerstones of
many ancient houses are olive millstones.
The tradition of this oil
which, in a text dating back to 1868 - when the olive trees were 38.000
- was defined of "very good and first-rate quality", has been preserved
throughout the centuries and gives still nowadays the opportunity to
taste a great product which, like in the past, comes from several small
producers following ancient traditions but at the same time entrusting
the good quality of their oil to a very modern olive press in
Agrisirole Soratte.
