Olive groves and olive oil mills for sale in Italy

Italy has 44 olive oil designations, 43 PDOs and 1 PGI (or PGI, Protected Geographical Indication) for olive oil, more than any other European country, but the entire certified production amounts to only 10,000 tonnes. Of this, an impressive 42% comes from Tuscany (IGP Olio Toscano) and 21% from Apulia (DOP Terra di Bari). Six percent has the PDO Umbria label and 4% the Riviera Ligure label. The remaining 27% is shared among the other 36 Italian PDOs. By regions, 6 PDOs in Sicily, 5 PDOs in Campania, 5 PDOs in Apulia and 5 in Tuscany, 4 PDOs in Lazio, 3 PDOs in Abruzzo, 3 PDOs in Calabria, 2 PDOs in Emilia Romagna and 2 PDOs in Lombardy and 1 PDO in Basilicata, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Marche, Molise, Sardinia, Umbria and Veneto. 

PGI in Tuscany, in the provinces of Grosseto, Massa Carrara, Arezzo, Siena, Firenze, Pisa, Livorno, Lucca, Prato and Pistoia.

The most famous Italian olive varieties are Frantoio, Taggiasca and Nocellara. They are also called cultivar. This term comes from Latin (varietas culta) and means ‘cultivated variety’.

In Italy there are more than 538 varieties of olive trees producing olives for oil, which represents approximately 42 % of the world's olive varieties. Coratina, Itrana and Leccino are the most common olive oil types in the production of extra virgin olive oil.

The main Italian olive cultivars are:

Moraiolo and Frantoio, the Tuscan oil olives.

The most famous olive varieties of Tuscany are Moraiolo and Frantoio. 

The Moraiolo variety is very common in central Italy (Lazio and Umbria). The Frantoio variety is very common in central Italy (Tuscany).

Other varieties of central Italy are Leccino (Tuscany/Umbria/Lazia), Pendolino (Lazio/Tuscany), Moraiolo (Umbria/Tuscany), Frantoio (Tuscany/Umbria/Lazia), Olivastra Seggianese (Tuscany), Gentile di Chieti (Abruzzo).

PDO TUSCANY: Chianti Classico PDO. , Lucca PDO, Seggiano PDO. , Terre di Siena PDO. , Toscano I.G.P. 

PDO UMBRIA: Umbria Colli Assisi PDO. 

PDO ABRUZZO: Aprutino Pescarese PDO. , Colline Teatine PDO. Pretuziano delle Colline Teramane PDO. 

PDO LAZIO: Canino PDO , Colline Pontine PDO , Sabina PDO , Tuscia PDO 

PDO MARCHE: Cartoceto PDO. 

Nocellara del Belice and other olives from Sicily

The most famous olive variety in Sicily is the Nocellara del Belice, but there is also the Nocellara dell'Etna. 

Sometimes, as in the case of the excellent Sicilian extra virgin olive oil PDO Titone, the oil is obtained from different varieties of Sicilian olives.

Special mention should be made of the Tonda Iblea variety, the most famous Sicilian olive, with PDO Monti Iblei PDO extra virgin olive oil certification.

Olive varieties of Puglia: Coratina, Ogliarola, Leccese, Cellina

There are many varieties of olive in Apulia. Leccina and Coratina are probably the best known.

Other varieties from central Italy are Ortice (Campania), one of the oldest olive trees in Italy, dating back to 539 BC, Recioppella (Campania), also one of the oldest olive trees in Italy, Ortolana (Campania), Minucciola (Campania), Carolea (Calabria), Itrana (Lazio/Campania), Pisciottana (Campania), Coratina (Puglia) one of the most famous cultivars to add to olive oil blends to give them more character, Peranzana (Puglia), Ottobratico (Calabria), Bosana (Sardinia), Tonda Iblea (Sicily). Moresca (Sicily), Ogliarola (Puglia, Basilicata and Campania), Giraffa (Sicily), Biancolilla (Sicily), Cerasuola (Sicily).

PDO BASILICATA: Vulture PDO (Basilicata)

PDO CALABRIA: Alto Crotonese PDO (Calabria), Bruzio PDO (Calabria), Lametia PDO (Calabria).

PDO CAMPANIA : Cilento PDO (Campania), Colline Salernitane PDO (Campania), Irpinia - Colline dell'Ufita PDO (Campania), Penisola Sorrentina PDO (Campania), Terre Aurunche PDO (Campania)

PDO MOLISE : Molise PDO (Molise)

PDO PUGLIA: Collina di Brindisi PDO (Apulia), Dauno PDO (Apulia), Terra d'Otranto PDO (Apulia), Terra di Bari PDO (Apulia), Terre Tarentine PDO (Apulia)

PDO SARDINIA: Sardegna PDO. 

PDO SICILIA: Monte Etna PDO. , Monti Iblei PDO , Val di Mazara PDO, Valdemone PDO. , Valle del Belice PDO. , Valli Trapanesi PDO. 

Garda olive variety: Casaliva and Leccino

The oil production on Lake Garda, between Trentino Alto Adige, Veneto and Lombardy, is of the highest quality. The typical Italian olive variety of these regions is Casaliva, but there are also Frantoio and Leccino olives.

PDO LOMBARDIA: Laghi Lombardi PDO (Lombardia), Garda PDO (Lago di Garda).

PDO FRIULI-VENEZIA-GIULIA: Tergeste PDO (Friuli Venezia Giulia)

PDO VENETO: Veneto PDO (Veneto)

EMILIA-ROMANGNA: Brisighella PDO (Emilia-Romagna), Colline di Romagna PDO (Emilia-Romagna)

Taggiasca: Ligurian olive oil is obtained from this olive.

The most widely used olive variety for the production of Ligurian olive oil is the Taggiasca. It accounts for 98 % of Ligurian production. Other Ligurian varieties are Razzola, Pignola, Lavagnina. 

PDO LIGURIA: Riviera Ligure PDO (Liguria)

Monocultivar olive oil is made from a single type of olive. This is why it is also called pure olive oil. By tasting a few drops of monocultivar oil you will discover the authentic taste of the main Italian olive varieties..