REGGELLO, Italy—The silver giants make you respect them just by their look. I approach a little fearfully. With a small rake in hand I’m ready to harvest their generous fruits. Yet, my confidence wavers in the presence of these mighty trees. Then I suddenly realize their grand arms that reach for the sky are actually welcoming me with a warm hug.
My people of Reggello, a little town in the province of Florence, regard the harvesting of olives as something more than just producing olive oil. In the last 20 years, the market price of olive oil has not even covered the cost of maintaining the orchards, not to mention fertilizing, harvesting, and pressing the olives. Even so, hundreds of people roll up their sleeves and get ready to join the activities that have not changed for centuries—except for a few machines—and are repeated every November. Actually, just a few decades ago November was not yet olive harvest time.
Only recently, we discovered that the quality of the olive oil is much better if we harvest the olives before they’re completely ripe—while still on the trees—instead of collecting them from the ground. With this, there is also less worry about seeds taking root.
