HISTORY
The core centre of culture, the Mediterranean region is also home to the olive tree. A symbol of peace, wealth and glory, in ancient times the olive tree leaves were put on the winners' heads, to crown them as the best war fighters or game players, as well as excellent poets, writers or dramatists. Therefore, it must be said that the olive tree has always played a crucial role in the history of mankind. Thanks to its peculiar weather conditions, characterized by hot and moist summers and mild but quite rainy winters, the geographic area surrounding the Mediterrranean sea has always been particularly indicated for the growing of the olive tree. Over the past, most olive grooves were rather cropped in the Eastern part of the Mediterranean basin, which usually included such countries as Greece, Turkey, Syria and Palestine, whereas today the culture of olives is better known and more commonly spread all over the Western area of the Mediterranean basin, in such other countries as Spain and Italy, where, alone, the Apulia region, with more than 35.000.000 square kilometres of ground covered with olive grooves, accounts for 35% of the whole domestic production of olives and olive oils. In Apulia, olive trees are an important and considerable part of the landscape. SW to Bari, they are most of the "Cima di Mola" variety, whereas NW to Bari they mainly belong to the "Coratina" and "Cima di Bitonto" variety. In particular, concerning the "Cima di Bitonto" olive trees, they usually undergo a very important operation called pruning, which aims at allowing them good light and air penetration, thus leading, eventually, also at generally very huge harvests and quite easier reaping procedures. Once the pruning completed, the pictoresque branches of the "Cima di Bitonto" trees really look like lots of mummified snakes.

FROM THE PLANT TO THE BOTTLE
ON THE TABLE
THE QUALITY CHECK