The beautiful town of Lucca, set near the Tuscan coast about a one-hour train ride from Florence, is mostly famous for the beauty of its old town center surrounded by the intact Renaissance-era city walls and for hosting Italy’s largest comics exhibition, every Fall.
But for three years now Lucca, that in 2014 joined the National Association of Olive Oil Cities (Associazione Nazionale Città dell’Olio), has also been known as a major “oil destination” thanks to the annual ExtraLucca event and the quality of the olive oil produced nearby.
Organized by Fausto Borella, an olive oil educator and founder of the Maestrod’olio academy, the event is a sort of village fair involving many of the city’s most evocative locations for tastings, workshops, conferences and cooking demonstrations.
The ExtraLucca 2015 edition running this weekend — organized under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, of the Lucca Municipality and Milan Expo 2015 — will have a special relevance due to the difficult 2014 harvest.
Fausto Borella
“Usually, olive oil producers are men of few words; they let the product speak in their stead,” Borella said, “but this year extra virgin in Italy is very little, and those who were able to bottle a good product will be out of stock by March. They will then be forced to speak, and to tell about their work and about the oil they made and already finished. This is a good thing, since extra virgin needs to be narrated in its most ample sense, besides the technical aspects of production».”
Such is the aim of ExtraLucca, which will hold a conference bearing the straightforward title “In March the quality Italian olive oil will be finished up.”
The city’s streets and buildings — from the central via Fillungo to Villa Bottini, a beautiful mansion from the Renaissance period — will host tasting stalls displaying olive oils, food and wine and the cooking demos where many famous chefs will show their recipes featuring extra virgin olive oil as a special ingredient.
On Saturday, February 13 the church of San Cristoforo will host the presentation of the Terred’Olio2015, an olive oil guide edited by Borella and the award ceremony where the selected farms will receive the “Corone’ (crowns) appointed to the best oils, according to the guide.
Related Articles
Oct. 1, 2024
Citizen Groups in Rome Harvest Local Olive Trees for Charity
Volunteers in the eastern outskirts of the Italian capital care for olive trees in public parks, harvesting their fruit to produce oil for charity.
Apr. 12, 2024
Global Production May Exceed Expectations, but Not Enough to Move Prices
Analysts predict climate change will result in new price dynamics, with high-quality extra virgin olive oil and other market segments behaving differently.
Mar. 7, 2024
Ancient Olive Groves on Capri Are Reservoirs of Biodiversity
Researchers traced the origins of the island’s olive trees to Crete and mainland Italy and discovered 21 new varieties.
Nov. 20, 2024
Drought and Warm Winter Lead to Sharp Decline in Sicily's Harvest
While yields remain within the norm, producers across Sicily anticipate significantly lower olive oil production.
Sep. 18, 2024
Calabrian Cooperative Emphasizes Quality While Building Economies of Scale
Seventeen olive oil producers have joined to promote Carolea extra virgin olive oils while driving down farming and milling costs.
Jun. 5, 2024
Discovery of New Olive Varieties in Italy Spurs App Development
An Italian National Research Center analysis identified two previously unknown cultivars in Frosinone.
Mar. 25, 2024
Scientists Defend Study Finding Xylella Not Responsible for Most OQDS
Margherita Ciervo and Marco Scortichini defend their research that found Xylella fastidiosa was not responsible for most Apulian olive tree deaths over the past decade.
Apr. 18, 2024
Triumphant Producer Reveals Potential of Frosinone
An hour outside Rome, Frosinone is not widely known for olive oil production. Al Piglio hopes to change that with its World Competition win.