Quercetano Olive

Slow Food Presidium

Italy

Tuscany

Fruit, nuts and fruit preserves

Oil

Back to the archive >

The Quercetano olive is a native variety of the municipality of Seravezza and, more specifically, of an area known as Querceta, from which it spread to neighboring municipalities over time.
Olive growing in Versilia, and in particular in the Piana Quercetana, has been of primary importance for millennia, both for the local economy and in shaping the landscape. In the Middle Ages, the Piana di Querceta, owing to the features of its landscape (it’s a plateau), did not suffer the same fate as other coastal areas of Versilia and avoided paludification, and to a large extent retained its traditional olive groves, which, at the time, were the subject of a dispute between Pisa and Lucca, who fought a fierce battle on the site. Versilia olive oil was very important to Pisa as a commodity in its trade with the Arabs and was even used with the value of currency.
The Quercetano olive is a vigorous tree with a characteristic erect trunk and young pendulous branches. The leaves are long, thin and shiny green in color. The olives are small, ovoid and slightly pointed. This variety has always been primarily used for producing oil. Its yield is not always consistent, with good years followed by poor years, but the quality of the oil is always excellent.
The oil has a clear or slightly hazy appearance and a golden olive green color. It has a delicate medium fruitiness, with a good balance between bitter and spicy and rich aromas of freshly cut grass and aromatic herbs.
The Quercetano olive, owing to its small size and poor flesh-to-stone ratio in comparison with other varieties, is attacked later by olive fruit flies and this therefore yields better quality at harvest time.

Season

The olives are harvested from October and the oil is sold from November.

Back to the archive >
The centuries-old Quercetano olive groves are today facing extinction: tourism-related urbanization is quickly reducing the area on which the trees are grown, leading to the disappearance of ancient olive groves and meaning that those that survive are restricted to small pieces of land between houses.
Today, Quercetano olives are grown on only around sixty plots of land. In the past, some producers stopped growing Quercetano olives and replaced them with other olive varieties with better yields. Pure Quercetano olive oil is rare and produced by a handful of olive growers.
The Presidium has led to the creation of an association, bringing together producers who are preserving the historic olive groves and producing single-variety Quercetano olive oil. Production adheres to the principles of organic farming, made easier by the fact that this variety is naturally highly resistant to the main olive diseases.
There are also other small-scale land owners who have a few Quercetano trees, but not in sufficient quantities to enable individuals to produce oil for sale on their own. The aim of the Presidium is to encourage them to harvest and press olives together.

Production area
Municipalities of Camaiore, Pietrasanta, Seravezza, Forte dei Marmi in the province of Lucca and Montignoso and Massa in the province of Massa Carrara.

Presidium supported by
Davines
Producers
Al Poggione
di Francesco Lorenzetti
Via Gramsci, 178
Seravezza (Lu)
Tel. +39 348 4127150
frenci2000@yahoo.it

Giardini Ripadiversilia
di Renza Iacopi
Via Angelini, 489
Ripa di Seravezza (Lu)
Tel. +39 320 6314527
info@giardiniripadiversilia.it
www.giardinidiversilia.it

La Mulattiera
di Walter Giannini
Via Campore
Seravezza (Lu)
Tel.+39 327 9313998
cooplamulattiera@gmail.com
www.ccoplamulattiera.it

Montepepe
di Alberto Poggi
Via Sforza, 76
Montignoso (Ms)
Tel. +39 329 4147426
info@montepepe.com
www.montepepe.com

L’orcio
di Domenico Mauro
Corte Piano di Sopra, 4
Camaiore (LU)
Tel. +39 351 6023703
agricolaorcio@gmail.com


Maria Cristina Pelizzari
Via Bonazzera, 251
Seravezza (Lu)
Tel. +39 328 5777902
info@antico-uliveto.it

Poggio alla Mora
di Federico Pucciarelli
Via Acquala, 14
Montignoso (Ms)
Tel.+39 328 5452022
enotecadivino2004@gmail.com

Il Quercetano
di Arianna Luisi
Via Alcide De Gasperi, 70
Seravezza (Lu)
Tel. +39 335 5805683
ilquercetano@gmail.com

Raffaello Raffaelli
Via Debbia Vecchia, 87
Montignoso (Ms)
Tel.+39 347 0145115
presidenteelaia@gmail.com

Cristina Ronchieri
Via Bertocchi, 17
Montignoso (Ms)
Tel. +39 335 5987599
cobasms@gmail.com

La Stellata
di Veronica Bonci
Via Palatina, 29
Località Strettoia
Pietrasanta (Lu)
Tel. +39 333 2923580
lastellata@labottegalab.com

Tenuta Giorgini
di Lino Giorgini
Via Roma, 204 C
Montignoso (Ms)
Tel. +39 392 9323039
tenutagiorgini@libero.it

Tenuta Palatina
di Patrizia Vercelli
Via Roma, 149
Montignoso (Lu)
Tel. +39 333 3103537
patriziavercelli@libero.it
www.tenutapalatina.it
Slow Food Presidium Coordinator
Lamberto Tosi
Tel.+39 328 8740441
tosilamberto@gmail.com

Producers’ Presidium Coordinator
Arianna Luisi
Tel. +39 335 5805683
ilquercetano@gmail.com
The centuries-old Quercetano olive groves are today facing extinction: tourism-related urbanization is quickly reducing the area on which the trees are grown, leading to the disappearance of ancient olive groves and meaning that those that survive are restricted to small pieces of land between houses.
Today, Quercetano olives are grown on only around sixty plots of land. In the past, some producers stopped growing Quercetano olives and replaced them with other olive varieties with better yields. Pure Quercetano olive oil is rare and produced by a handful of olive growers.
The Presidium has led to the creation of an association, bringing together producers who are preserving the historic olive groves and producing single-variety Quercetano olive oil. Production adheres to the principles of organic farming, made easier by the fact that this variety is naturally highly resistant to the main olive diseases.
There are also other small-scale land owners who have a few Quercetano trees, but not in sufficient quantities to enable individuals to produce oil for sale on their own. The aim of the Presidium is to encourage them to harvest and press olives together.

Production area
Municipalities of Camaiore, Pietrasanta, Seravezza, Forte dei Marmi in the province of Lucca and Montignoso and Massa in the province of Massa Carrara.

Presidium supported by
Davines
Producers
Al Poggione
di Francesco Lorenzetti
Via Gramsci, 178
Seravezza (Lu)
Tel. +39 348 4127150
frenci2000@yahoo.it

Giardini Ripadiversilia
di Renza Iacopi
Via Angelini, 489
Ripa di Seravezza (Lu)
Tel. +39 320 6314527
info@giardiniripadiversilia.it
www.giardinidiversilia.it

La Mulattiera
di Walter Giannini
Via Campore
Seravezza (Lu)
Tel.+39 327 9313998
cooplamulattiera@gmail.com
www.ccoplamulattiera.it

Montepepe
di Alberto Poggi
Via Sforza, 76
Montignoso (Ms)
Tel. +39 329 4147426
info@montepepe.com
www.montepepe.com

L’orcio
di Domenico Mauro
Corte Piano di Sopra, 4
Camaiore (LU)
Tel. +39 351 6023703
agricolaorcio@gmail.com


Maria Cristina Pelizzari
Via Bonazzera, 251
Seravezza (Lu)
Tel. +39 328 5777902
info@antico-uliveto.it

Poggio alla Mora
di Federico Pucciarelli
Via Acquala, 14
Montignoso (Ms)
Tel.+39 328 5452022
enotecadivino2004@gmail.com

Il Quercetano
di Arianna Luisi
Via Alcide De Gasperi, 70
Seravezza (Lu)
Tel. +39 335 5805683
ilquercetano@gmail.com

Raffaello Raffaelli
Via Debbia Vecchia, 87
Montignoso (Ms)
Tel.+39 347 0145115
presidenteelaia@gmail.com

Cristina Ronchieri
Via Bertocchi, 17
Montignoso (Ms)
Tel. +39 335 5987599
cobasms@gmail.com

La Stellata
di Veronica Bonci
Via Palatina, 29
Località Strettoia
Pietrasanta (Lu)
Tel. +39 333 2923580
lastellata@labottegalab.com

Tenuta Giorgini
di Lino Giorgini
Via Roma, 204 C
Montignoso (Ms)
Tel. +39 392 9323039
tenutagiorgini@libero.it

Tenuta Palatina
di Patrizia Vercelli
Via Roma, 149
Montignoso (Lu)
Tel. +39 333 3103537
patriziavercelli@libero.it
www.tenutapalatina.it
Slow Food Presidium Coordinator
Lamberto Tosi
Tel.+39 328 8740441
tosilamberto@gmail.com

Producers’ Presidium Coordinator
Arianna Luisi
Tel. +39 335 5805683
ilquercetano@gmail.com

Territory

StateItaly
RegionTuscany