A Passion for Olive Oil

One of the parts of my work that excites me the most is meeting farmers and makers, the people who keep Italy’s oldest traditions alive in their own way. Their stories always leave me inspired, and often with a new perspective on what it means to live intentionally.

When I began looking for a small-scale organic olive oil producer to include in a Basilicata tour I’m working on, I came across Mantenera and immediately felt drawn to Elena and Andrea.

As someone who grew up in Tuscany, olive oil isn’t just a condiment for me, it’s the ingredient I can’t live without. Running out of olive oil (or coffee!) is unthinkable in my home. As a teenager, I used to do the olive oil harvest during the weekends in October and get paid in green bottles of olio nuovo, the freshest olive oil. Honestly, best experience ever. It made me laugh when I read an article where Bill Gates said, “The thing you do obsessively between age 13 and 18 is the thing you have the best chance of becoming world-class at.” If that’s true, then no wonder I feel most alive when I’m meeting farmers and producers.

So when I search for a new producer to introduce to my guests, I look for people who respect the land, have a story and a purpose. With Elena and Andrea, I felt it immediately.

They aren’t native to Basilicata. They come from Rome and Milan, beautiful but exhausting cities. At a certain point, the pace of life there stopped feeling like living. Basilicata entered their story almost by chance. Andrea was traveling across Italy on his motorbike, searching for a quiet place to start over, when a small country road led him to Mantenera. He saw the old olive grove, the forest, the view of the Lucanian Dolomites, and a sign that simply read Vendesi.
In that moment, he knew, this was home.

If you ever join the Basilicata tour, or visit on your own, you will understand why. The energy there is grounding and the silence is deep.

But as beautiful as it is when you visit as a guest, I try not to romanticize it too much. Working the land is humbling and hard.

Andrea told me that the biggest lesson he has learned is the true value of things , olive oil included.

To produce the highest quality oil, he goes to the frantoio, the olive mill, at 3am, so the olives are pressed immediately before they heat up and lose their goodness. If he waits until a more appropriate and comfortable time of the day, like noon, the mill workers might be juggling too many tasks, and the olives could sit too long, changing the final result.

During the tasting of their two oils, one thing amazed me. Olive oil is, of course, a fat, yet when you swish their oil around your mouth so your papillae can taste it, it doesn’t coat your tongue at all. Instead, it leaves brightness rather than heaviness, a sign of great quality.

And then there is the silence of Mantenera… truly an introvert’s dream. Andrea told me that when his friends from Milan come to visit, they have trouble falling asleep because they aren’t used to so much quiet.

This is why I chose to bring guests here. Not just to taste olive oil, but to meet people who have chosen a life of meaning and beauty.

If part of you is curious about the Italy that still feels untouched and authentic, Basilicata will feel just right for you.