Do we really know everything about the value of made-in-Italy olive oil, not only in terms of its positive health benefits but also about the various realities that revolve around this undoubted pride of our country? Well, there is an opportunity not to be missed: the seventh edition of the “Olio Officina Festival- Condiments for the palate & for the mind” takes place from Feb. 1-3 in Milan at the Palazzo delle Stelline.
The event
Aimed at producers, consumers, and connoisseurs, the event is a happening dedicated to olive oil and condiments. It represents a Unicum at the international level, both for how it succeeds in informing the general public about the value of oil across various disciplines (art, culture, tastings, in-depth seminars ), and for how it succeeds in creating synergies between professionals and agronomic experts, industry enthusiasts, institutions, artists, companies of production excellence and citizens. The theme of the 2018 edition-“I am a tree”-aims to highlight the role of olive trees not only in agribusiness but also on an environmental and cultural level. “Because olive trees are like that, they accompany families for generations and generations, they are part of the Italian identity. I am not a farmer, but I believe that each of us, next to an olive tree, feels part of the history of his or her area. The national production of oil- says Luigi Caricato, director and Creator of Olio Officina Festival- is currently severely in deficit to cover domestic domestic needs and those needed for export activities, amounting in total to 1 million tons. As for certified territorial oils, those recognized in the European Union, almost 40 percent are from Italian territories, amounting to 46 products with designations of origin (including 4 Igp). Greece and Spain follow with 29 awards each. Finally, there is the fact that organic oil covers 21 percent of the entire Italian olive-growing area to be highlighted. Our Festival aims to emphasize production quality and intends to make all the realities that revolve around this quality production, which once saw Italy in the forefront internationally, dialogue with each other.”
Three multifaceted days: economics, passion, culture, correct information
Over the years, olive oil has been elevated to the status of a functional food, as well as a nutraceutical food of utmost importance for personal health and well-being.
The Festival’s program is so dynamic and varied that each year it intrigues and excites the audience more and more, and it is difficult to summarize it: it is a path that educates to respect and sensory and taste analysis, as well as artistic. A few examples from the 2018 edition: at the ‘Olio Officina Festival Bookstore’‘ and the Literary Cafe themed books and authors are presented during the three days; conferences and seminars are numerous and delve into topics such as the sale of Oil in the GdO, in Luxury, in the Horeca channel, and the new consumption trends in Italy and the world. While the competition The shapes of oil highlights evolutions in design; along with meetings on ‘Why oil is good for your health- Hoaxes vs. scientific truths‘; the ‘Oleoteca of the Festival’, tastings, and chefs are available to visitors for dialogues, tastings, purchases and insights into the articulated panorama of national and niche oil production. Also innovative are the shows , screenings and theatrical performances; the “Artist’s Oil” exhibitions” are also notable for the innovative works on display, such as a 100-cm photocatalytic biodynamic sphere, treated with titanium and silicon nanotechnology, indoors, which can boast the same beneficial and healthy effect that three tall trees would produce in the same environment, and is an example of Clean art.
Not to mention the exhibition “Chiome d’Artista- Painting in Oil,” curated by the Artedamangiare Association in tribute and memory of Marina Ripa di Meana; the exhibitions of Food Design and artistic gardening installations and the antique olive press specimen, in real size, (thanks to the concession of Fratelli Turri), placed in the center of the Festival’s tour route, which evoke the links between the present, the past and project toward the future dimension of an attention to oil that must be cultivated, kept alive and promoted with continuity out of respect for those who, as producers, with toil and passion, believe in it from ancient times and transfer this know-how to the young with both cultural and agricultural roots that are all Italian.
