We've had our apartment in Italy for over a year now so have been able to experience the local Umbrian landscape through at least one complete cycle of seasons. A couple of months ago, in late October, we made our first trip out to Citta della Pieve in autumn and it proved to be a rewarding visit - albeit a short one; we had only four full days available to us before we had to return home. We arrived in town from Ciampino airport in our little hire car late on a Thursday evening, so it was impossible to make any judgements about the local weather, or how everything looked outside. The following morning, however, we woke up to bright blue skies and for the time of year a warmish ambience which I felt when I stepped out on to our tiny balcony. I was surprised how green the valley below our apartment still looked with so many of the trees still having most of their leaves. One noticeable difference to our last visit was the absence of our friends the swallows who had long since departed for the warmer climes of north Africa, It seemed strangely quiet without them and the thought passed through my mind that it would be six months before we would see them again.
After an early breakfast we decided to drive into the countryside and visit our friends in Gioiella - a small village on a ridge between hillside slopes leading down to Lake Trasimeno in the east and Lake Chiusi in the west. It's in beautiful Umbrian countryside and I was keen to see what it would look like at this time of year. As soon as we left the valley bottom and started to climb the gently rolling hillsides I was conscious of the rhythmic nature of the annual cycle and its steady progression in this part of Italy. Perhaps it's due to the seasons seeming more clear cut here compared with our part of the UK Midlands. Not only do the seasonal weather conditions seem very distinctive in this part of Umbria, they also seem to accurately reflect what we can see on the exposed hillsides. Today the landscape had a beautiful earthy tone to it, making it even more special in the morning bright, sharp light. In an area still dominated by agriculture involving crop growing, olive cultivation and vineyards not surprisingly various activities associated with the autumn season were evident on this fine morning. In one field a farmer was ploughing the soil, in another preparations were being made to harvest the olives and in yet another vine leaves were turning to a wonderful golden hue perfectly poised for the snip of the pruner's shears later on.
Suddenly and surprisingly I became aware of how this array of distinctive hues of blue, greens, yellows and browns had permeated the palette of colours used in the craft based making of Italian tin-glazed pottery and traditionally made in Umbrian towns like Deruta and Gubbio for centuries.
I've been familiar with and enjoyed this type of pottery for years, but never before has the penny dropped so loudly as to how exactly the colours were inspired by the local landscape. The characteristic colour range of blue, brown, yellow and green, found on many of the wonderful pots made during and since the 16th century in this region, resonates in my mind with what I can see before my eyes this morning.
But it's time to move on and Frances and Michael will be awaiting our arrival at their village house just outside Gioiella. I'm keen to know more about the annual harvest of their olive trees.
Frances and Michael are expats from Ireland and England respectively. They used to live in southern Spain but ten years ago decided, after visiting the Italy a number of times, to settle there and buy a property in Umbria. They bought a stone house with an adjoining field containing about thirty mature olive trees and have annually harvested them to become self sufficient in high grade olive oil. But on the phone last week they'd indicated there were problems with this year's harvest so it was time to investigate. On arrival at the house, after parking the car, we took a peek at the field with the olive trees next to the house. Everything looked pretty normal to us but a quick inspection of the nearest tree showed there was very little to harvest. Where were the olives?
Olive trees have been cultivated in the Mediterranean area since at least 3000BC and the trees were probably first introduced from north Africa via Egypt and the island of Crete. For centuries the olive tree and its branches and fruit have been considered variously a symbol of peace, wisdom, glory and fertility as well as being the source of a major foodstuff - olive oil. Cultivation of the tree began in Italy between the VIII and V centuries BC. Today Italy has 1,700,000 hectares of land under olive cultivation, though 80% of production is concentrated in the south, especially in Puglia, Calabria and Sicily. With 28,000 hectares of land under olive cultivation in Umbria, our region produces only 2% of the national output, but the oils produced are generally of premium quality and many carry DOP status (protected denomination of origin). As olive oil is an important part of the Mediterranean diet its not surprising that Italians consume 12kg of the stuff every year - though not all of this is from Italian sources - much of it being imported from Greece and Spain. The high quality and valuable Italian oils, including those of Umbria, tend to be exported to countries like the United States and Great Britain. Umbrian oils are particularly favoured for their piquancy of taste caused by the high levels of antioxidants in the oils, the unique flavours the result of the unique combination of local micro-climates and soil types.
The trees owned by Frances and Michael came with the house purchased and were not the reason they chose the property, but it was a challenge to them to farm them and produce their own oil. All their trees are approximately 40 - 50 years old and include a mixture of cultivars or types. Each shows the characteristic twisty gnarled trunk beneath a squat bole and wonderfully silvery green leaves. Like everyone else in the area they prune their trees in February/ March and feed them with potash mix pellets in June. They allowed their neighbours to harvest the crop in their first year there so they could learn the procedures involved in harvesting and turning the olives in to oil. With good quality Umbrian olive oils costing up to 20 euros for half a litre in some upmarket shops, the idea of producing the same thing as an interesting hobby was very appealing.
In the first year Frances and Michael harvested 6 kilos of olives - considered a poor harvest by locals. In the several years following though the yield often reached 400 to 480 kilos of olives producing an oil yield of between 9 and 20 percent. It follows that from the thirty trees they owned, in the best years they could expect about 60 litres of good quality extra virgin olive oil - which if stored correctly could be kept for up to 2 - 3 years.
Under normal circumstances the olives would be harvested at this time of year with rake heads attached to broom sticks with nets set below the trees to collect the crop. Taking their time and perhaps with a little help from friends, the harvest would normally take about a week. After collecting the olives from the nets they would be placed in stackable boxes and left for a day or two for the fruit to dry and for any "worms" (insect larvae) to drop out of the fruit. They would then join a small consortium of neighbours so they could combine their crops to reach a minimum pressing target of 100 kilos.The olives would be collectively taken (or collected for a small charge) to the local mill for pressing. There are a few mills left in Umbria which operate with traditional pressing stones like the one at Paciano, but the one Frances and Michael use has more modern equipment and can be found run by a local family in the village of Petrignano. The mill operates 24 hours a day during the harvesting period and arrivees have to wait their turn to get their olives pressed. When pressing begins the olives are poured first into a washing vat before going to the press which has four outlets for the oil. It takes about four hours for the first pressing of the load through a series of filters; when the oil "comes through" it looks a wonderful luminous green colour. As oil made from the first pressing it is designated to be of "extra virgin" quality and the pulp left behind, which is usually pressed again, is of a pinky colour, the texture of a coarse pate or hummus.
Everyone in the little consortium would have their estimated oil volume drained into stainless steel containers callued "fustos" which can be of 10, 25 and 50 litre sizes. Once filled they can be taken home and the consortium would pay the millers their modest fee of about 90 euros for the pressing. But what of this years harvest?
Over a cup of hot coffee Frances and Michael told us of the problems facing this year's olive growers in Umbria - especially those with organic plots. A combination of a warm, wet winter which prevented the cryogenic frost action needed to stimulate spring growth in the trees combined with an extraordinarily wet summer has stunted the growth of olives in this part of Italy. Though the olives looked to be progressing normally up until about August, they failed to swell and ripen and the double whammy of an infestation of olive fruit fly (their larvae grow inside the olives and devour the flesh leaving only skin and stone) has meant there will be no harvest this year at all for Frances and Michael and many of the larger growers in the area. Those fruits that did exist have dropped off the trees in a dried and shrivelled state and are of no use to anyone. In a recent email Frances has told us that the local pressing mill has actually closed early through lack of olives to process. All in all its a disastrous year for those depending on olive production for their living.
We left Gioiella feeling sad after hearing the story of the failed olive crop and it was a reminder to us of the precarious nature of farming as a means of making a living in Umbria or anywhere else for that matter. Suddenly it made the issue of climate change seem that little bit more real. Was this year's slightly odd Umbrian climate pattern a blip or part of a greater trend that would affect the area in the years to come? My first impressions of the autumn season in Umbria had been slightly misleading and I found that a bit depressing. It was time to head back to Citta della Pieve and cheer ourselves up there. We'd heard there was a local festival being held in the town that weekend so we set off to find out what it was about.
After an early breakfast we decided to drive into the countryside and visit our friends in Gioiella - a small village on a ridge between hillside slopes leading down to Lake Trasimeno in the east and Lake Chiusi in the west. It's in beautiful Umbrian countryside and I was keen to see what it would look like at this time of year. As soon as we left the valley bottom and started to climb the gently rolling hillsides I was conscious of the rhythmic nature of the annual cycle and its steady progression in this part of Italy. Perhaps it's due to the seasons seeming more clear cut here compared with our part of the UK Midlands. Not only do the seasonal weather conditions seem very distinctive in this part of Umbria, they also seem to accurately reflect what we can see on the exposed hillsides. Today the landscape had a beautiful earthy tone to it, making it even more special in the morning bright, sharp light. In an area still dominated by agriculture involving crop growing, olive cultivation and vineyards not surprisingly various activities associated with the autumn season were evident on this fine morning. In one field a farmer was ploughing the soil, in another preparations were being made to harvest the olives and in yet another vine leaves were turning to a wonderful golden hue perfectly poised for the snip of the pruner's shears later on.
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| AUTUMN IN UMBRIA NEAR GIOIELLA |
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| EARTHY TONES DOMINATE CERAMIC OBJECTS IN A SPECIALIST SHOP IN PRESENT DAY DERUTA |
But it's time to move on and Frances and Michael will be awaiting our arrival at their village house just outside Gioiella. I'm keen to know more about the annual harvest of their olive trees.
Frances and Michael are expats from Ireland and England respectively. They used to live in southern Spain but ten years ago decided, after visiting the Italy a number of times, to settle there and buy a property in Umbria. They bought a stone house with an adjoining field containing about thirty mature olive trees and have annually harvested them to become self sufficient in high grade olive oil. But on the phone last week they'd indicated there were problems with this year's harvest so it was time to investigate. On arrival at the house, after parking the car, we took a peek at the field with the olive trees next to the house. Everything looked pretty normal to us but a quick inspection of the nearest tree showed there was very little to harvest. Where were the olives?
.JPG) |
| FRANCES & MICHAEL'S OLIVE TREES NEXT TO THEIR HOUSE IN GIOIELLA LAKE CHIUSI IS IN THE DISTANCE |
The trees owned by Frances and Michael came with the house purchased and were not the reason they chose the property, but it was a challenge to them to farm them and produce their own oil. All their trees are approximately 40 - 50 years old and include a mixture of cultivars or types. Each shows the characteristic twisty gnarled trunk beneath a squat bole and wonderfully silvery green leaves. Like everyone else in the area they prune their trees in February/ March and feed them with potash mix pellets in June. They allowed their neighbours to harvest the crop in their first year there so they could learn the procedures involved in harvesting and turning the olives in to oil. With good quality Umbrian olive oils costing up to 20 euros for half a litre in some upmarket shops, the idea of producing the same thing as an interesting hobby was very appealing.
In the first year Frances and Michael harvested 6 kilos of olives - considered a poor harvest by locals. In the several years following though the yield often reached 400 to 480 kilos of olives producing an oil yield of between 9 and 20 percent. It follows that from the thirty trees they owned, in the best years they could expect about 60 litres of good quality extra virgin olive oil - which if stored correctly could be kept for up to 2 - 3 years.
Under normal circumstances the olives would be harvested at this time of year with rake heads attached to broom sticks with nets set below the trees to collect the crop. Taking their time and perhaps with a little help from friends, the harvest would normally take about a week. After collecting the olives from the nets they would be placed in stackable boxes and left for a day or two for the fruit to dry and for any "worms" (insect larvae) to drop out of the fruit. They would then join a small consortium of neighbours so they could combine their crops to reach a minimum pressing target of 100 kilos.The olives would be collectively taken (or collected for a small charge) to the local mill for pressing. There are a few mills left in Umbria which operate with traditional pressing stones like the one at Paciano, but the one Frances and Michael use has more modern equipment and can be found run by a local family in the village of Petrignano. The mill operates 24 hours a day during the harvesting period and arrivees have to wait their turn to get their olives pressed. When pressing begins the olives are poured first into a washing vat before going to the press which has four outlets for the oil. It takes about four hours for the first pressing of the load through a series of filters; when the oil "comes through" it looks a wonderful luminous green colour. As oil made from the first pressing it is designated to be of "extra virgin" quality and the pulp left behind, which is usually pressed again, is of a pinky colour, the texture of a coarse pate or hummus.
.JPG) |
| MICHAEL HOLDS UP A STAINLESS STEEL OLIVE OIL "FUSTO". |
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| FRANCES INSPECTS THIS YEAR'S SHRIVELLED OLIVES |
We left Gioiella feeling sad after hearing the story of the failed olive crop and it was a reminder to us of the precarious nature of farming as a means of making a living in Umbria or anywhere else for that matter. Suddenly it made the issue of climate change seem that little bit more real. Was this year's slightly odd Umbrian climate pattern a blip or part of a greater trend that would affect the area in the years to come? My first impressions of the autumn season in Umbria had been slightly misleading and I found that a bit depressing. It was time to head back to Citta della Pieve and cheer ourselves up there. We'd heard there was a local festival being held in the town that weekend so we set off to find out what it was about.
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| THE LUMINOUS GREEN OLIVE OIL OF UMBRIA |
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