ITALIAN JOURNEY – PROGRAMME 2

LECCE – PUGLIA AND ITS OLIVE OIL

Puglia produces 75% of Italy’s olive oil.  The province of Lecce alone has  more than 14,000 hectares of olive trees.

Michele Doria, secretary of the Sant’Anna Co-operative, an association of local oil producers, talks to us about the history and background of this popular product.

Gabriella: This tree is an incredible shape. It’s fantastic! It twists around itself 

Michele Doria: In fact, it is so impressive people have nicknamed it “the king”.  Because... it’s majestic, something truly out of the ordinary.

Gabriella: How old is this tree?

Michele Doria: This tree is 2000 years old.  

Gabriella: Really?

Michele Doria: Yes.

Gabriella: What’s the relationship between the people here and the olive-tree?

Michele Doria: Well, the olive-tree is our culture, our history.  In the past it supported the family in all senses.  It provided fuel, wood for making furniture, even doors – very hard-wearing, and quite heavy.  Then it was used in food, and to treat illnesses because our ancestors continued the Roman traditions.  You could say that it was our life, it was a raw material in all senses.

Gabriella: And after the olives have been harvested, how are they processed?

Michele Doria: Well, nowadays, with modern mechanised methods.  But it is very interesting to see how they used to be pressed in the past.  So I’ll take you to see a mill.

Gabriella: Will you show me?

Michele Doria:  Yes, yes.  It’s an amazing 16th century olive press.

Gabriella: Very interesting.  Let’s go!

They go into the town, to Vernole, to see the mill.

Michele Doria: We are actually walking on it.

Gabriella: You mean it’s under the main square?

Michele Doria: Underneath the square.  We’ll be inside in a minute.  Here we are, inside the mill.

Gabriella: Incredible!  I would never have imagined anything like this underneath the square. How old is this?

Michele Doria: This goes back to the sixteenth century, so the 1500s.  It’s one of 19 underground mills in the Vernole district.

Gabriella: Is it all as well preserved as this?  

Michele Doria: Yes, it has been restored.

Gabriella: Tell me, why did they have to build the olive-press underground, under the square?

Michele Doria: For various reasons.  One, firstly, because basically it is easier to extract the oil if the temperature is constant.  Then secondly, it was a lot less expensive to dig underground than to build above ground.  Finally, it was very important from the point of view of protection.  Because the oil was tempting to quite a lot of people.

Gabriella: And did they stay down here for a long time?

Michele Doria: From when the olives first started to fall, so from the harvest at the end of October, to the end of April.

Gabriella: Shut down here for six months?

Michele Doria: Six months down here.

Gabriella: And where, where did they live?  Where did they sleep?

Michele Doria: Now I’ll show you.  I’ll show you.

Gabriella:  And this oil was used as a foodstuff?  In cooking?

Michele Doria: No, no.  Absolutely not.  Only for lighting.

Gabriella: Ah, for lighting?

Michele Doria: Yes.

Gabriella: So it was used for lighting all over Europe?  And over there? This area?

Michele Doria: This was the workers’ sleeping quarters.

Gabriella:  So they slept and ate here?  All near the place, in fact in the same room as they worked.

Michele Doria:  In the same room as they worked.

Gabriella:  And how many were there down here?

Michele Doria:  Five.  Four workers and a foreman.

Gabriella:  And they couldn’t ever leave, or go out, for six months?

Michele Doria:  For six months in a row.

Gabriella:  So olives, oil, they were Puglia’s gold, but it was a form of slavery.  How much were the workers paid for this type of work?

Michele Doria:  Three pocketfuls of dried figs.

Gabriella:   Is that all?  It doesn’t seem very much.  But did they consider themselves to be specialist workers?

Michele Doria:  Yes, yes, specialised, and so they felt that it was an honour to work in the olive-presses.

Gabriella:  And how long did this go on for, this working in underground mills?

Michele Doria:  Until the early 20th century.

Gabriella:  Until last century?

Michele Doria:  Yes, until this last century.  So for more than 400 years.

Gabriella:  Incredible! But luckily we don’t have stay down here for six months, we can come out.