The Consortium’s project, with its far-sighted, innovative vision, aims at restoring the old, but indeed timeless values of farm work in a region that has to learn how to make the most of its beauty and riches, the actual ‘raw materials’ of its products.
Hence, the idea of not only pooling oil farms, but also of being a promoter of our territory with an aim to restore values and image of our land in an effort to revive Calabria’s identity by becoming a local reference point and a designated partner for government authorities, especially for the Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Forestry.
The object is to be a forerunner and to go beyond the sharing of a common project to create opportunities for growth and development, to raise awareness and trust not only among the most experienced producers, but also among new generations.
“An oil drop contains all the science and taste of the place of origin, and so our brand and project hold ambition, trust and willingness to start all over again from excellence," the Consortium’s president states, referring to his desire to involve young generations in a cultural and production revival by attracting them to agriculture that needs innovation, new technologies, educated and trained people familiar with new production methods, who know how to use equipments and marketing strategies.
Further, human resources are needed who can implement the principles of transparency and lawfulness to build a reputation in Calabria and outside the regional boundary.
Training, educating and informing the young generations to invest on farming, investing in the development of specialized and trained professionals who have the skills to obtain the highest-quality products means to guarantee a future not only to Lamezia’s olive oil production, but also to the whole Calabrian economy. In turn, that will contribute to Calabria’s sustainably profitable and lasting growth.
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.
The Consortium’s branding positioning strategy has involved a new logo whose inspiration came from the ancient Bastion of Malta, ‘a symbol of strength and solidity, an authentic landmark identifying the character of our land and our people’ – Prof. De Lorenzo explains.
The Bastion is one of the best preserved ruins in the area. It dates back to the mid-16th century when it was built to defend against the continuous Saracen raids that threatened the flourishing trading activities of the coastal cities. It was, in fact, the viceroy of Naples, Don Pedro da Toledo, on the orders of the Spanish Crown, who ordered local communities such imposing strengthening of their defences.
The coastline from Savuto to Turrina had been under the jurisdiction of the Jerosolimitan order of the Abbey of Sant’Eufemia and the Knights of Malta since 1530.
So they built the mighty construction that is still standing at about 800 m off the shoreline (as a result of its advancing over time) and also the numerous coastal towers that are scattered to the north and south, not too far from each other.
From a commercial point of view, the Bastion can currently be seen as a ‘defence’ to counter frauds, competition, but also to evolve from unknown, which such a valuable product does not deserve.
But there is more: being so closely and directly related to the territory, the logo can well identify the country of origin, thereby being a distinctive and easy-to-recognize symbols of both regional products and activities.
