The Roman spead the olive throughout Italy, till the foothills of the Alps, but a determining factor in Veneto was the action of the Doges who, wishing to safeguard themeselves against the caprices of the large Middle Eastern producers, planted the olive tree in all the favourable regions of the hinterland. Today in Vicentino, which represents one of northern most cultivated sites, there are more than 40.000 plants, predominantly the Frantoio variety, producing around 500 quintals of oil per year. There are two typical regions: the Bassanesi and the Berici Hills, centred respectively at Pove del Grappa, which celebrates the olive early in April, and at Nanto, where the oil-truffle combination holds its own celebration in the middle of July. The quality of the product, even under analysis, is excellent: the hills and the Vicentino piedmont are such an ideal land for the olive, that only rarely an anti-parasitic treatement is taken. |
