The DOP Lametia extra virgin olive oil is most closely related to the tree and the land it originates from.

Olive-growing and the relevant ‘culture’ arrived on the Calabrian shores with the Greeks in 8th century b.C. In the rich Greek civilization, literary writers and poets immortalized the olive tree, which confirms its presence both in symbolic imagination and everyday life.

As the numerous archaeological findings show, the meaning of the olive tree for the ancient Greeks, much more than for other earlier civilizations, goes beyond its religious meaning: it was a mainstay of their lifestyle.

In the Byzantine period, with a very small population, Benedictine monks settled in the region and improved olive cultivation. It was a very low recovery that was not stimulated by the market demand as had happened in the ancient Greek period. Unfortunately, the malaria-infested coastal marshland were unsuitable for agriculture, and olive cultivation had to be moved uphill.

Between the late Byzantine period and the Roman conquest, other productions tried to prevail over olive-growing but without success.

The plant-growing, harvesting and extraction methods developed by the Greeks and improved by the Romans have remained practically unchanged until today.

Since then, olive growing has spread and taken up most Calabria’s cultivated land. Currently, Calabria is Italy’s second-olive oil most producing areas, one of the few positive records held by the region.

The quality features of DOP Lametia extra virgin olive oil derive from the use of single-variety Carolea cultivar, which after century-long adaptation to climate and territory produces a low-acidity, medium fruity and very-well balanced pungency and bitterness oil that enhances food flavour without prevailing.

Producing high-quality oil in Calabria has an art form indeed in itself.