Valamar Blog

(1) Did you know that, just as it was in case of Istrian Malvasia, and we have written about it in previous posts, olives too came to Istria in the ancient times, and it is presumed that it was brought by the old Greek and Phoenicians.

Istrian olive oil has a long history, and when talking about the sole beginnings of olive-growing on these areas we should mention that in the times of the ancient Roman Empire the best olive oil was produced in Istria. It was actually the equivalent of the today’s extra virgin oil, “Oleum ex albis olivis”. The production was supervised by the emperor himself, and it is interesting to mention that all Roman emperors owned an olive-grove in Istria.

(2) Did you know that Istrian olive is mentioned in the first Roman cook book, written by Apicius, and even Galen, the most famous Roman physician, wrote about him. However, the most distinct notation was made by Martial – a Roman epitaph writer, who, when expressing his admiration for his native town Cordoba, wrote that it was “as perfect as the oil from Istria”.
As an interesting point, we should also mention that on the island of Brijuni still “lives” an olive tree from those old ancient times, it is1650 years old, and even today it bears fruit!

(3) Did you know that Istria is the most northern region in Europe where olives grow, and if you go just a step more to the north you won’t be able to find any olive trees!

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