Driving south from Bari is the town of Bitritto home to Oliodecarlo, a family business reaching back some 400 years. First came the olive trees and then the mill and now a thriving business offering a range of olive oils and vegetables preserved in olive oil as well as a variety of “elixirs” produced by
pressing their own organic olives with fresh chillis, tangerines or white truffles. The De Carlo mill is open to the public every day of the year and you can book a visit to discover every step of the process to press the oils. You can also take the opportunity to taste some typical Puglian specialities.
Keep on going and you will hit the Colline del Brindisi. This range of relatively high hills runs parallel to the coast down to Brindisi. At their foot is a sea of olives running across the flat land to the coast. Little roads run through the picturesque countryside skirting the olive groves divided by low dry stone walls made of yellow sandstone. White-washed farms and small towns are scattered across the countryside. Oils produced here can take the Colline del Brindisi designation.
The región from Monopoli south to Ostuni is said to be the oldest olive growing region in Italy and many of the trees are 400-500 years old. Some are even older and they look it. I have never seen such a collection of ancient trees, all in fantastic shapes. These groves certainly rival those of the Gargano península further north. They could be the inspiration for the walking trees in Lord of the Rings!
The predominant variety here is Ogliarola with some others such as Cima di Bitonto in the north and Cima di Nardo in the south. There are around 40 plus olive oil producers on the local Strada del Olio including Frantoio de Amica at Casalini di Cisternino which, when I visited it, was producing three olive oils from local olive varieties Oglariolo, Cima di Nardo and Leccino. “Trisole”, their premium oil, was pressed from all three varieties together with something described as Selvatica di Bosca or local/wild olives. The oil was the free run from the old olive mill with grindstones. It did not go through the hydraulic press or the decanter and was very good, with a fresh appley taste and plenty of bitter almonds.
Trulli Houses and Masseria
This is not just olive oil country it is also “trulli” land with a vengeance. Trulli villages, like Alborello and Selva di Fasano have become tourist attractions in their own right. In addition, many groups of one, two or three trulli houses have been made into farms and more recently, into modern homes and hotels. The mill at Frantoio di Amica has its offices and tasting rooms in a building which incorporates 18th century trulli houses.
A great place to stay is the Tenuta di Monacelle at Selva di Fasano. Many of the bedrooms are housed in small trulli houses scattered across 50 acres of gardens. They are all individually furnished and the grounds are peppered with cherry trees and buildings that once formed part of an 18th century convent. In contrast you might like to try Masseria Torre Coccaro near the coastal town of Salvelletri. This is now a very luxurious five star hotel with Aveda spa and everything you might expect from such a hotel. The masseria was originally a XV1 century, or maybe even earlier, watch tower. It was part of a chain, every two or three kilometres along the coast and two kilometres inland, built to watch out for Turkish invaders.
Over the years the tower was gradually added to and a wall built all round the property so that it became a fortified farm , completely self-sufficient. Inside there was a chapel – still operating as such – and an underground olive mill to which the farmers could retreat in times of invasión. This área is now used for large events and conferences. In the tower itself the ground floor used to be the rooms for the women of the Farm. They all have fireplaces and now form a little warren of lounges. The mezzanine level was for cheese making and is now a suite. There are further suites in the farm buildings and in another underground cave where the men used to sleep with the horses The dining room is in the stables.
Though not actually a working farm today, the Tenuta still grows a good deal of its own produce in the vegetable garden. This was originally a sunken area formed by cutting the stones to build the masseria. There are also around 60 olive trees on the farm and their fruit is pressed to produce the oil in which some of the farm’s vegetables are preserved. Look out for them in hotel boutique.
As you drive further south towards Lecce, the scenery changes again. The land is much flatter and vineyards become much more prominent, in some áreas taking over compleely from the olive groves. This is the famous Salice Salentino wine región. The olive trees, too, are different with much taller and larger varieties. Look out for the Terra D’Otranto oils.
Tenuta di Monacelli, near Casalabate, is also well worth a visit. This is another typical golden sand stone masseria set in a walled courtyard with an ancient tower and a working mill. Facilities include two suites, seven bedrooms and a first class restaurant. Three varieties of local olives are grown on the 2,000 hectare estate with Ogliarola, Celina and Coratina. Take a break here to sample some of the delicious food specialities of the region like sfoglini or cavetelle pasta with greens and little picey sausages, deep-fried polpettine or baby meatballs with cheese and wild lampascione. Wash it all down with a wonderful bottle of wine from Colle Orientale di Fruili.