The olive-groves
The holding's centre and greatest expanse of olive groves
are at San Giovanni Profiamma situated to the north of Foligno
along the valley of the River Topino on the clay-rich soil
of gently sloping hills.
At Vocabolo Hoffman along the S.S. 3 Flaminia main road lies
the "Chiusa Della Fonte Nuova" about 1000
olive trees planted in 1994 as a clonal selection trial of
the moraiola variety in collaboration with the Institute of
Arboreal Cultivation of the University of Perugia. Adjoining
this, a further 350 m above sea-level lies the "<"
with about 1500 moraiola olive trees.
After two hairpin bends, on the right there is the "Chiusa
di Candiotti" about 2000 olive trees, mainly moraiolo,
but with some frantoio variety present as a result of pollination
and thickening. Here, next to age-old trees of 2 or 3 centuries,
there are side-shoots regrown from stumps after the frost
of 1956. Further up, there is an open space surrounded by
two farmhouses, a storehouse for agricultural tools and a
small pond created to very slowly irrigate the olive groves.
Around the pond, planted in 1983 with 'modern' systems and
predisposed for mechanical harvesting, is the grove of "Mancia
Nuova", with 2,300 olive trees (predominantly frantoio
variety). About half of this 'Chiusa' (grove surrounded by
oak trees) is at the disposition of the Institute of Arboreal
Cultivation - Perugia which cultivates it and continually
carries out tests on it, the results of which are in the scientific
publications of the institute's professors.
The older grove of "Mancia Vecchia" lies
above this to the west with its 2000 pure moraiolo trees which
are hundreds of years old. Continuing up along the road, after
a hairpin bend on the right lies the "Chiusa di Prova"
(Test Grove) so called because even in the 1940s Pietro Cipolloni
together with professors Jacoponi (Arboriculturist) and Professor
Lucchese (Entomologist) carried out experiments here to improve
the plants which are still today an unchanging characteristic
in the running of the holding. At over 450 metres above sea-level
stands the "Convento Casa delle Pecore" (Sheep's
Convent Home) so named because of its use over time. This
large rural dwelling is surrounded by olive trees of the "Chiusa
del Monte Cucco" where we have replanted half the
grove with about 3000 moraiolo olive trees, and also added
other test varieties, as always in collaboration with the
university.
To the west of the convent there is the "Chiusa di
Massenzi" a grove composed of centuries-old moraiolo
olive trees whose enormous trunks enabled them to survive
the frost of 1956. Following the small road which goes round
the grove of Monte Cucco there is, below it on the
right, the "Chiusa del Burrone" where about 2000
moraiolo olive trees have been planted on a steep slope (40%
gradient). After about a kilometre there is a wood where 'uccellagione',
that is, the capture of live decoy birds with nets, used to
be practised. The wood goes down into a narrow valley and
meets the local road which runs along the valley floor near
a brook.
On the other side of this 'gorge' towards the east, from 300
to 500 metres above sea-level there is the "Chiusa
della Valle" which gets its name from the geomorphic
conformation and the village of the same name which lies above
it. Once again the moraiolo olive tree predominates but with
many frantoio and leccini pollinators replanted.
Leaving the valley road at its highest point of about 500
metres above sea-level, we take an earth track which crosses
1.5 km of groves belonging to other landowners and leads to
the "Chiusa dello Zampirone" where, on a
gentle hill crowned with a manor-house, there are about 6000
moraiolo olive trees the highest up of which are either centuries-old
or derive from side-shoots of 1956. The trees lower down reach
back to the S.S Flaminia main road and were replanted 40-70
years ago (probably after the other great olive tree frost
of this century, in 1929.
Crossing the river Topino on the other side of the valley
which rises up towards the Apennines along the S.S. 77 Val
di Chienti main road which joins Foligno to its most distant
fraction Colfiorito, there is the area of Colle S. Lorenzo
with the holding's highest olive groves at 500-700 metres
above sea-level. We have rented these for a long time from
the descendants of an ancient family of landowners and notables
of Foligno, the Sorbi. As on almost all of this side of the
valley, the land here is very steep (45% gradient), and was
"torn" by our grandfathers from the coppice which
still partly surrounds the olive groves. Of the approximately
6000 moraiolo saplings of the grove of "Colle San
Lorenzo" about 2400 were replanted with moraiolo
and frantoio varieties after the frost of 1985.
To complete the tour of the olive groves we must head westwards
towards the Colli Martani Hills and Montefalco to the locality
of Pietrauta at 450 metres above sea-level.
Here there are other olive trees, about 1800 of the moraiolo
variety and some (about 300) eating-olive trees which Alberto
Cipolloni planted together with Professor Antognozzi of the
University of Perugia in order to test their adaptability
to our climate and evaluate the possibility of planting in
Umbria.
From our north-east facing olive-groves and Sagrantino vineyards
at Pietrauta di Montefalco, it is possible to see the other
side of the valley and the olive growers of San Giovanni Profiamma
and Colle S. Lorenzo, and the little towns of Trevi, Spello
and Assisi surrounded by the olive-groves of the 'Denominazione
Origine Protetta' (EEC certification of origin and quality)
zone of "Umbria", sub-zone "Colli Assisi-Spoleto"
which I believe, with good reason, to be the "Gold Coast"
for world olive growing and where the best oil in the world
is made both in terms of absolute top products and average
quality over the years.
On this "Golden Coast" the moraiolo variety of
great purity (90%) which has been present in this environment
for centuries, the cold continental climate which makes it
almost impossible for olive flies to attack, and the soil
together with excellent management of olive groves and careful
transformation, all combine together and contribute to the
achievement of absolute quality which is unrepeatable anywhere
else.
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