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The History of the Olives of Garda

We at Le Prandine are linked to the historical roots of our Garda oil, starting from the origins of the olive trees, the same trees belonging to the Oleaceae family, consisting of about 900 species of trees, shrubs and climbers spread throughout the world.
The olive tree was always present in the Mediterranean area, even though its original habitat in fact, is the Middle East, starting from northern Arabia, Syria, Palestine, up to the Caucasus. Many archaeological findings and ancient texts prove to the growth and use of the fruits of this tree date back to 6000 years ago.

Our house is located in Torri del Benaco, an area which always profited from a perfect climate and a unique soil composition for olive growth. The origins of our olive trees and of the oil of Garda date back in time, for this reason we can say that the olive oil Le Prandine is among the best oils of Lake Garda. Olives were already present on the territory in the first century BC, developing in time a unique ecotype: the Casaliva. A local economy at the time was based on this type of olive typical of Lake Garda, focused on the olive oil of Garda.

From the fifth century, the territory of Torri del Benaco was crossed by an activity of transhumance: the shepherds, coming from the plain and heading to Monte Baldo, came to this area to trade. The inhabitants used the olive oil of Lake Garda to preserve the fish of the lake and it was among the main exchange goods. It was in fact traded with cheeses, animals, and meat of the shepherds in transhumance.