From 1 to 25 November 2018 the “Frantoi Aperti in Umbria” event , now in its twenty-first edition, will return to the spotlight, an event that, right in the olive pressing period, puts rural Umbria and the high-quality villages in the center of the spotlight olive oil vocation, with the producers of oil and the extra virgin olive oil DOP Umbria.
Frantoi Aperti, translated as Open Mills, will bring thousands of passionate gourmets to Umbria, as it does every year, animating for 4 consecutive weekends medieval villages adhering to the initiative, where it will be possible to taste the extra-virgin olive oil, as well as many quality gourmet products. There will be opportunities for tasting oil, to take part in guided tours of monuments and historic centers, trekking among the olive trees, to observe the olive harvest, and take part in many other initiatives designed also for kids. In the participating villages there will also be musical appointments and concerts, fun and entertainment activities, bike rides, educational farms, visits to historic buildings and food markets of typical products of Umbria. (www.frantoiaperti.net).
The heart of the event, will be the Mills participating in the initiative, meeting and socializing places, linked for the occasion to the villages by a free shuttle service. The visit to the mills will allow the visitor to fully breathe the atmosphere, assisting, thanks to the welcome and the guidance of the mill operators, to the pressing of the olives, warming up in front of the fireplace, appreciating, with tastings accompanied by bruschetta and wine, the characteristics of the new oil and participating in the many initiatives organized by them. The Open Oil mills will host, in fact, concerts, cooking shows, olive picking for visitors and trekking among the olive trees.
Umbria is a region almost entirely marked by the presence of the olive tree especially in the area that goes from Assisi to Spoleto in which there are thirty five kilometers of hills marked by olive groves that, in their development, link architectural, historical and artistic gems among the most beautiful in the world. In order to defend and enhance the peculiarities of this “Fascia Olivata”, a path has been undertaken for the recognition of the landscape and it has recently been recognized, at the Olive Assisi-Spoleto Belt, the value of Historic rural Landscape by the Ministry of Agricultural Policies, defined by the director general of MIPAAF, Emilio Gatto as the “main olive-growing area of Umbria, which preserves a landscape where the relationship between olive growing and history is particularly strong: historic villages, castles and religious complexes are immersed in the olive groves that cover the slopes, enriched by terraces, lunettes and ciglioni, while in the flat part, monumental oaks delimit the arable land “.
The six municipalities – Spoleto, Trevi, Assisi, Spello, Foligno and Campello sul Clitunno – who have been participating for years in Frantoi Aperti, now aim to recognize the landscape within the “Giahs Program” (Globally important agricultural heritage systems) of the FAO , the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. At the center of the protection of the olive trees of the Fascia there is no oil “production” in its purely economic aspect, but the landscape and the “cultural identity” of all human activities on the territory. A choice not only of values, but also of political intelligence, which allowed the broadest possible consensus to be gathered on the protection initiatives. The landscape is a value and if the efforts of the municipalities are rewarded, the Fascia Olivata Spoleto-Assisi will be the first territory recognized as a FAO Food Landscape in Europe. An Italian heritage to defend because it is our identity and our reality and we want to make sure that this landscape has the ability to produce economy.
The 2018 edition of Frantoi Aperti will be previewed in Bologna, at Fico Eataly World, the largest food park in the world, on October 20 and 21; two days in which in the Fico’s mill, will be milled Umbrian olives of Moraiolo variety, extracted the first extra virgin olive oil that will be put in tasting together with breads made with ancient grains, with Truffle of Umbria and the lentils of Castelluccio.
The event, sponsored by the Ministry of Heritage, Cultural Activities and Tourism, is organized by the Strada dell’Olio Dop Umbria, in collaboration with the Consortium for the Protection of Olive Oil DOP Umbria and the City of Oil and with the support of the Umbria Region, Chamber of Commerce of Perugia, Terni and the Cooperative Credit Bank of Spello and Bettona.
For more information on Frantoi Aperti:
info@stradaoliodopumbria.it – www.frantoiaperti.net
Tel. +39 0742 332269
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