An olive grove on the outskirts of Ostuni in Puglia.
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Not surprisingly, Italy’s food and wine are among the top reasons millions of people visit the country each year. (Culinary tourism is so robust it saw a 176% jump in the last 10 years, according to ENIT.) Wine travel has played a huge part in that growth, but now, a relatively niche travel segment, olive oil tourism, is attracting greater numbers of taste tourists both at home and abroad who are keen to seek out meaningful new food experiences, especially when it takes them to lesser-known destinations.
Roberta Garibaldi, president of the Associazione Italiana Turismo Enogastronomico, points out that “since 2021, Italian tourists’ participation in olive-oil-related experiences has increased by 37.1%. Our studies confirm that this practice is growing, also thanks to the country’s extraordinary diversity of more than 500 olive cultivars and its centuries-old olive-growing tradition.” She attributes the new interest to the fact travelers want to explore gastronomy “in its broadest sense — not just through tasting, but by learning about production, culture, and the stories of local producers. Olive oil tourism perfectly exemplifies this trend, blending landscape, heritage, and craftsmanship.”
Moreno Moretti, CEO of Italy Charme, a Le Marche-based firm specializing in luxury custom travel, says he’s received more requests for immersive olive oil experiences in the past year. This new interest dovetails with another trend he’s noticed—a higher demand for culinary interactions with local farmers. He describes those who seek out oil tours as “open-minded travelers interested in not only tastings but full and deep experiences about the oil and the surroundings.”
Ancient olive trees in Puglia.
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Moretti says that there are numerous ways to enjoy harvest season, which typically runs from September to November; one excursion he recommends is to Puglia, where some of the olive trees are over a thousand years old, with others “believed to date back even 2,000 or 3000 years to the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans,” he notes. Clients join farmers at small producers for the harvest, which is followed by a visit to a frantoio where the olives are processed. “This is the most entertaining part of the experience, as you’ll see many local producers bringing their own olives to be pressed. It often feels like a lively Italian comedy—full of laughter, stories, and friendly competition over who makes the best olive oil!” The trip also includes a picnic lunch amid the olive trees.
Olive Oil Roads, Festivals and Harvest Celebrations
Olives growing near Lake Garda.
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Travelers have various options if they want to immerse themselves in olive oil culture, from custom-designed tours and experiences offered by hotels to self-planned trips. There are “olive oil roads,” or Strade (plural of strada) del Olio, which like the popular wine roads, the Strade del Vino, map out itineraries and indicate where to stop to visit mills and farms, ancient borghi of cultural interest, and restaurants that showcase an area’s DOP olive oil in everything from appetizers to cakes and ice cream. These routes can be found from north to south—Lago di Garda’s Olive Trail, highlighting the northernmost olive oil producing region in Italy to La Strada del Vino, Dell’Olio e dei Sapori della Valle dei Templi in Agrigento, Sicily.
While olive oil tourism isn’t as developed as wine tourism, these routes, along with regional and nationwide events, are attracting greater notice. “Walking Among the Olive Trees, on October 26, for example, now in its 9th year, takes place in 17 Italian regions. The event aims to introduce visitors to local olive oil culture and its importance to a particular area through immersive two-to-seven-kilomenter walks and other events.
Harvesting olives at sunset in the medieval town of Gualdo Tadino in Umbria.
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Umbria’s Frantoi Aperti (Open Oil Mills), one of Italy’s best-known oleoturismo happenings, held to celebrate the launch of the new season’s olive oil, runs this year from October 18 to November 16; in addition to visits to mills, there are special dinners, exhibits and even an “olive oil” train, Espresso Assisi, running between Rome and Assisi each Sunday during Frantoi Aperti, with tastings on board and stops in towns like Perugia and Spoleto.
The Val d’Orcia in Tuscany.
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Tuscany, a prime oil producing area since the time of the Etruscans, has designated “oil cities” with nearby routes, like the Monte Pisani Olive Oil Trail close to Pisa, and the Montalbano Wine and Olive Oil Trail not far from Florence. A Tuscan harvest festival not to miss is La Festa dell’Olio in San Quirico d’Orcia, one of Italy’s most photographed areas (and site of the so-called “Gladiator Road,” the nickname given to it because of its scenic impact in the Ridley Scott movie, The Gladiator), that fetes the harvest and introduction of the new extra-virgin olive oil.
Harvesting Taggiasca olives near Imperia on the Italian Riviera. (Photo by Paolo Picciotto/REDA/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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In Liguria, home to the Italian Riviera, the new season is welcomed with festivals like OliOliva in Imperia, November 7-9, where fresh EVO from the local Taggiasca olive is among the highlights. In Sestri Levante, a town not far from Cinque Terre, there’s Pane e Olio, usually scheduled for the first week in December. The event builds a program around the harvest and local DOP extra virgin olive oil with cooking demonstrations, olive grove and mill tours, and tastings.
Hotel Experiences
Lombardy
Olive trees near Lake Iseo (Sebino).
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Hotels are increasingly planning new ways for guests to participate in unique experiences, and olive-oil-themed outings are among a recent spate of offerings. Portrait Milano, the Lungarno Collection retreat in the heart of the Quadrilatero, the city’s luxe shopping area, suggests a novel way to tour the nearby Italian Lake District by seeing the area from the perspective of its olive oil production and the mills that turn out Laghi Lombardi, a prized EVO cultivated in the territory between Lake Como and Lake Iseo (also known as Lake Sebino). The hotel can organize a day trip to visit producers during the November harvest.
Another oil-themed excursion is to Ispra, on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore; trips in early October are timed to coincide with the lively harvest, a community-wide happening.
Tuscany
The Tuscan landsacpe near San Polo in Chianti.
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Portrait Firenze arranges visits to the olive oil producer Pruneti at their frantoio in San Polo in Chianti, located in the northern part of the famous wine-producing region, and to Fattoria di Maiano, near Florence, where the award-winning Laudemo olive oil is created.
Villa La Massa, a Florentine estate that was once a Medici property and is now a hotel owned by the Villa D’Este Group, offers an olive-harvest package, November 2-7. You’ll be able to take part in the harvest in the olive grove on the grounds of the villa; a three-course lunch at the hotel’s L’Oliveto restaurant with a tasting of the new oil are part of the program.
Puglia
Borgo Egnazia. (Photo by Michele Bella/REDA/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
REDA/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
At Borgo Egnazia, the pioneering hotel village that’s long been a favorite of international celebrities, there’s an olive-oil focused outing called “Golden Harvest” that takes place in nearby Lama D’Antico, a hamlet known for its medieval rock settlement. During the excursion hosted by a master local producer, guests learn about the millenia-spanning history of oil production and how olives are chosen to yield top oils. Tastings and a picnic lunch are part of the tour.
Sicily
The Temple of Juno in the Valley of the Temples, Agrigento, Sicily.
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At the Adler Spa Resort in the province of Agrigento, guests can participate in the resort’s olive oil harvest (early October) taking place amid the groves on the estate, along with tastings at a nearby mill. For those visiting before or after the harvest, there are Sicilian gin and wine tastings, and a cooking class devoted to mastering sophisticated fish dishes.
Visiting Outside The Harvest Season
Although harvest season is limited to the fall, olive oil tourism exists throughout the year. Roberta Garibaldi sees significant potential to extend the oleoturismo season for travelers keen on more than tastings. “Olive oil tourism is becoming a diverse experience,” she says, explaining that visitors are also interested in dining experiences in olive groves, traveling unique olive oil routes (for example, among ancient trees) and visiting related museums, and for wellness treatments featuring olive oil.
Many travel companies, like Italy Customized, offer olive oil tours beyond the prime harvest months. Their Valley of the Temples tour in Agrigento takes in ancient olive trees along with the Greek-era masterpieces of this famous UNESCO site. Sample olive oil produced by a local company, Diordoros, which partners with the landmark archaeological park to create an organic EVO.
Dining and Cooking