OLIVE OIL FESTIVAL: EXPERIENCES TO SAVOR BY THE LAKE

From Friday, April 10th to Sunday, April 12th, the Olive Oil Festival returns to Torri del Benaco. The three-day event will celebrate the excellence and culture of extra virgin olive oil, with a delicious program ranging from a market exhibition to cooking shows, including guided tastings, extra virgin olive oil mixology sessions, cultural events, and music.

The event will open with a tasting workshop on Garda wines, led by Angelo Peretti, on Friday at 6 pm at the ancient Molo De Paoli.

Saturday will open with the central moment of the event: the presentation of the Slow Food “Guide to Extra Virgin Olive Oils 2026” at 9:30 am at the Cinema Teatro , followed by the award ceremony for the best olive oil companies in Italy and Slovenia included in the guide.

At 2:30 pm, the " Olive Village" will open at Molo De Paoli, a market-exhibition offering tastings of olive oils from 54 producers from Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Lombardy, Puglia, Sicily, Tuscany, Trentino, Umbria, Veneto, and Slovenia. This tasting journey will also feature typical products from the Lake Garda area, such as wines, saffron, and jams, some bearing the De.Co. mark of the City of Torri del Benaco, as well as Monte Veronese d'allevo cheese, a Slow Food Presidium product.

On Sunday at 12:30 pm at Molo De Paoli, expert Vanessa Lorenzetti will showcase Radicchio di Verona PGI in an unmissable cooking show hosted by the Consortium for the Protection of Radicchio di Verona PGI.

The Olive Oil Festival will also offer moments dedicated to local history and culture. For the occasion, a symbolic site of Torri del Benaco, the Crero olive oil mill , will be open. Used until the 1900s for oil production, the ancient Crero "torcolo" can be visited on Sunday, April 12th from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm . Guided tours exploring Garda's olive oil tradition are organized by CTG El Vissinel of Costermano sul Garda and are available by reservation only.

The Taste Workshops , a historic Slow Food format, will offer seminars on extra virgin olive oil, led by the Guide coordinators, to help the public discover the sensory characteristics of this product through informed tastings and in-depth discussions on quality. The workshops will take place on Saturday at 3:30 pm and 5:00 pm, and on Sunday at 11:00 am, 3:30 pm, and 5:00 pm.

Both Saturday and Sunday, at 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM, the village will be rocked by " Music Under the Olive Trees," small concerts spread across the lakeside and the historic center for a unique experience combining melodies and flavors. Music will take center stage in the concert by accordionist Marco Salvetti, Sunday at 3:00 PM at the Church of the Trinity.

Throughout the event, seven restaurants, taverns, pizzerias, and bars in Torri del Benaco, Pai, and Albisano will offer special menus, dishes, and cocktails featuring extra virgin olive oil.

Slow Food's "Guide to Extra Virgin Olive Oils 2026" : featuring 766 companies and 1,211 reviewed oils, the Guide offers a broad and up-to-date snapshot of quality Italian olive growing. This comprehensive work chronicles regions, people, and production choices, offering readers an authoritative tool for navigating a rich, yet often complex, landscape. Fifty-one companies are recognized with the "snail" symbol, a sign of adherence to the Slow Food philosophy. 228 oils come from companies belonging to the Presidium of Ancient Olive Trees. 129 new additions to the 2026 Guide include 573 certified organic oils.