Uli-wandering: among ancient olive trees and ancient oil mills in the Madonie Mountains

The experience

It evokes myths since prehistoric times, is sung by Old Testament poets, and Homer assumed it as a symbol of peace. Today the olive tree is carving out a leading role for itself. So here is an “olive experience” in San Mauro Castelverde, in the heart of the Madonie Park, where olive trees are monuments of nature, centuries-old trees around which an itinerary designed by the Ulivo Capovolto association has been built.

A journey of discovery of one of the most beautiful monumental olive groves in the area. A trail that combines nature and history, exploring symbols and myths of olive trees, from prehistory to the present day. It is also an opportunity to meet with producers, to discover ancient oil mills, to explore the alleys of San Mauro, a village that is part of the National Association of Oil Cities.

During the course, the more technical and botanical aspects of the plants, the stages of care and production are also explored, following the different stages from the tree to the bottle of oil.

After the first monumental olive grove, we visit a former fiefdom with a 1,500-hectare forest and ten thousand olive trees of the Crastu and Giarraffa varieties, cultivars typical of the San Mauro area. We then move on to visit An animal-drawn oil mill that dates back to the early 1900s.. A classic “trappitu” of peasant tradition, where olives were pressed with large limestone stones. But just take another short walk to encounter another 1,300-year-old “Methuselah” olive tree.

After a technical tasting with sommeliers and oil tasters and a lunch break with local products, you will visit the village of San Mauro Castelverde, discovering churches and the ethnoanthropological museum, a true treasure chest of rural memory.

To end the day at Borgo Malìa, a handful of houses overlooking the Pollina Valley. Here visitors will find the only two families left living in a small rural compound near the village: six people, still living by mule, punctuating their days with the rhythm of sunrises and sunsets. Among them is a 25-year-old boy, the youngest in a family of ranchers and farmers, happy to live in this pristine world.