ITALY, short cultural itineraries
MONTI PISANI
Monti Pisani is a vast territory of Tuscany, between the cities of Pisa and Lucca about 40 minutes from Florence with easy access thanks to the existing road network that reaches the sea and trails crossing the mountainous region. The area is not far from the A11 / exit: Migliarino, Pisa Nord, Lucca.
The area is bounded by the administrative boundaries of the towns of Buti, Vicopisano, Calci, San Giuliano Terme, Vecchiano; it is affected by a mountainous region (Monte Pisano) and a broad plain that leads to the sea (Tyrrhenian Sea).
Here, tourists can enjoy many offers of cultural, natural and well-being: the historical term “Bagni di Pisa” and the collection of 25,000 costumes (costumes) of the House of Florentine Art Cerratelli in San Giuliano Terme, the Natural History Museum and the territory in the beautiful Carthusian monastery, the medieval villages of Vicopisano and Buti, valuable buildings and villas dating back to the 17th century and the Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli Regional Park.
In the area you can see olive groves of the 17th century, find unique handicrafts such as Vicograpano ceramics, baskets made in Buti, authentic Tuscan gastronomy and extra virgin olive oil produced from local olives!
IMPERIA & ITS ENVIRONS
The Italian Riviera has always been a land known for D.O.P. Oil “Riviera” of the Riviera dei Fiori and Taggiasca, a special variety of olive which yields a high-quality extra virgin olive oil. The small size edible olives are also very tasty preserved in brine or chopped for making ‘pates’. Over the centuries Taggiasca’s grafts were grown throughout Italy, although the largest cultivation has always been in the Imperia province. Today it is one of the most famous olives for the production of extra virgin olive oil and one of the best table olive, because the fruit, despite its small size, is very tasty.
Lovers of good food have now many reasons to schedule a cycling holiday in the area including the tasting of local products. The village of Taggia is easily accessible from the bike path, but also is very easy to find chosen olive products at special shops in which you can taste and try the precious ligurian olive oil.
For those who want visit the region and learn more about the Olive Oil, we suggest to go there during the production process, which generally takes place in the period from November to March. The trail leads to 21 locations of oil production in the Province of Imperia:
Apricale, Aurigo, Badalucco, Bayard, Borgomaro, Ceriana, Chiusanico, Chiusavecchia, Diano Arentino, Diano San Pietro, Dolceacqua, Dolcedo, Isolabona, Lucinasco, Molini di Triora, Montalto Ligure, Perinaldo, Prelà, Taggia, Vasia, Villa Faraldi.
In the alleyways which connect the villages you will find the signs to the “Route”, and the various branches to the mills and manufacturers, often going through the suggestive olive groves of Liguria.
► If you are in the region, visit definitely the Fratelli Carlo CARLI Olive Museum in Imperia, one of the best Olive Museums in the Mediterranean, with rare exhibits and testimonies about the olive tree and olive oil production.
► Remember that every year in mid-November in Imperia, is held the great Festival of olive tree and olive oil “Olioliva”. More than 150 exhibitors of traditional products, events, workshops, culinary workshops, tastings, art exhibitions, etc. are only some of the events happening in the city on this occasion. A good idea is to rent a bike at Parco Urbano in Imperia, combining a visit to the exhibition with a nice walk along the coastal road and the most interesting parts of the city.
UMBRIA
Area in the center of Italy with a wide variety of landscapes dominated by olives, grapevines and a beautiful nature, offering chosen local products rich in flavors and scents.
The olive tree is present all over the area, offering many opportunities to walk on an olive route in Umbria: Colli del Trasimeno, Orvietani Colli, Colini Colli, Colli Assisi-Spoleto, Colli Martani …
The route of the Colli del Trasimeno starts from the shores of the homonym lake between castles, towers, monasteries and medieval churches and continues into enchanting places such as Tuoro, Passignano, San Feliciano, Sant’Arcangelo, Castiglione del Lago, Piegaro and ends in Perugia …
The route along Colli Assisi-Spoleto’s olive-growing areas starts from Trevi, a town which is mainly olive-growing , home of the Museum of Olive Culture. From here you have many choices of trails to follow, such as Spoleto, Foligno and Spello, where in one of its towers is the royal olive tree and reach Assisi, walking through olive groves alleys.
Another beautiful area in Colli Martani, in the center of the “green heart” of Italy is the Valle Umbra. Here the route crosses from Deruta Torgiano, Bettona, Gualdo Cattaneo, going across Massa Martana, Todi, Bevagna and Montefalco, important places as well.
- In Trevi, visit the Museum of Olive Culture, housed in the former monastery of San Francesco (13th century), next to the homonymous church and the Municipal Art Gallery. In this “museum” is presented the immediate relationship between olive cultivation, olive products, changes and the progress of the environment in which the olive has been developed for centuries in social and economic level.
- If your time permits, take a stop at “Società Agricola Trevi Il Frantoio”, a homey and hospitable place, a small family business, which has been active for years in the agricultural sector, offering genuine and healthy products like the old ones.
- In Torgiano – Assisi, visit the Olive & Olive Museum that was founded to document the presence of olive oil in quotidian life for millennium. Also visit the Wine Museum which proposes a route-presentation to the history of wine that begins in the 3rd millennium BC. and it gains until today.
- In Bettona (20 minutes from Assisi), a good idea is to diner at the “Frantoio dell’Azienda» and visit the company’s olive oil mill. Hidden among the olive trees along a path you would never want to ends, ideal for hiking and mountain biking, in between a thick vegetation with all the shades of green.