Torri del Benaco: the idea of the Slow Food Presidium of the centuries-old olive groves of Alto Garda Veronese is born

This is the idea launched during the spring edition of the Torri del Benaco Oil Festival, on the Venetian coast of Lake Garda, on the sidelines of the conference entitled “Which olive growing at the service of the environment?”, which saw as speakers, on May 17, Francesca Baldereschi, curator of the Slow Food “Guide to Extra Virgin Olive Oils”, and the regional coordinators of the same guide for Trentino, Lombardy and Veneto, Meri Ruggeri, Marco Antonucci and Mauro Pasquali. The proposal immediately met with the approval of the mayor of Torri del Benaco, Stefano Nicotra, and that of the neighboring municipality of Brenzone sul Garda, Paolo Formaggioni, who said they were interested in intensifying, in the coming months, contacts with Slow Food to verify the feasibility of the project.

“For our territory - said Nicotra - the ancient olive trees of the native varieties Drizzar, Trép, Fòrt, Ràsa and Favaróla have not only an agricultural value, but also and above all a historical, cultural and landscape value, which can translate into a respectful tourist offer, which includes opportunities for walking or trekking along the numerous paths that connect Lake Garda and Mount Baldo. The completion of the southern and northern sections of our cycle path, with a direct connection to the Brenzone cycle path, will allow us to create a very long protected ring for visitors interested in our landscapes and our history. For the oils from our centuries-old olive groves, we are already in the process of adopting the recognition of the Municipal Denomination. Being able to equip those olive groves of ours with the Slow Food brand would allow for further and even greater valorization, attracting young people to the olive-growing activity.”

The mayor of Brenzone sul Garda agrees, highlighting how the mill in operation in his municipality, restored thanks to the joint financial contribution of the municipal administrations of Brenzone, Torri and San Zeno di Montagna, is the point of reference for hundreds of small olive growers in Alto Garda, who preserve an olive-growing tradition that is more than a thousand years old. It was in fact in the Early Middle Ages that the major monasteries of Northern Italy promoted and encouraged Garda olive growing, which found in the Casaliva, also known as Drizzar, the main variety of the area. An extra virgin olive oil is produced from it that has notes of meadow herbs, green apple and almond as its strong points. “Our historic olive groves,” says Formaggioni, “form a huge and extraordinary heritage, developed over the centuries around fascinating villages, such as the medieval village of Campo, whose olive groves are already being enhanced by our volunteers.”

The Festa dell'Olio will continue tomorrow with many initiatives: tastings, meetings with producers of extra virgin olive oil from Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige, Lombardy and Slovenia, cooking shows with chef Isidoro Consolini, guided tours and cultural moments.