The gold of Vico Equense

An hundred meters of walking and the look broadens: appears a multitude of olive trees up the hill, lined up on the terracing. Vico Equense is famous for its enchanting views overlooking the sea, but the hearth is in the inland, among the hamlets that compose the suggestive mosaic of this area of Lattari Mountains. A hearth that tells about agriculture and rearing, excursions and good food, where are born dairy excellences such as “Provolone del Monaco”, and where the ancient tradition of olive harvest is preserved. It is exactly here, among the olive groves that surround us, a few meters downstream, that the olive oil mill “Il Montano” is located.

It was born in 2004 by design of Aurora Coppola and Matteo De Simone, two spouses who in the hamlet of San Salvatore continue the tradition of cold milling. Aurora respects a few simple rules: olives put into process already defoliated and cleaned, right degree of maturation, milling within 24 hours of harvesting.

In Vico Equense the weather in November is still mild. Aurora takes a piece of bread, cuts some slices and puts them in a dish. She pours over oil and a pinch of salt. «It’s important to all of us quality, not quantity. For this reason we don’t work for large retailers».

Aurora’s olive oil mill has its own working idea and production ethics. Processing only clean and defoliated olives, choosing the most mature ones, is not a whim, but a choice that will affect the quality of the oil we will taste. «It was not easy to convince the farmers in the area to avoid overripe olives - says Aurora - No farmer likes to hear that the fruits are not good».

However, one episode convinced her that it was the right path. «Once a 90-year-old-farmer, Mr. Ciro, arrived here with his olives, most of which were too ripe. I told him that the fruits were not good. He got angry. After a week he came back with another load of olives. I took a look: they were perfect. Ripe at the right point and properly clean. I said to myself: if Mr. Ciro, at the age of 90, understood it, it means that we have to go on like this».

As good wine is born in the vineyard, also the good oil is born in the olive grove. The olives are not all the same: there are over 500 types – known as “cultivar” – scattered throughout Italy. That of Vico Equense is “Ogliarola Sorrentina”, also called “Minucciola”, which produces a «sweet, delicate and not too greasy oil – Aurora says – It has an aftertaste of tomato and artichoke, perfect for seasoning fish dishes, but also suitable for meat dishes».

That of Aurora is a job never stops. The olive-press works 24 hours a day, from mid-October until the end of December. Sometimes even in January. But the story of oil is also history of centuries-old traditions, like that of the oil of the Saints. Aurora seasons dome more bread, smiles and evokes the memories of a child. "When the olive harvest began, every priest carried a steel container to the oil mill, for the so-called oil of the saints. The reason for this name is simple: before each harvest, the farmer was always commended himself to his patron saints. Not because the harvest was particularly abundant, but to preserve its safety. An olive tree also reaches seven, eight metres in height. Climbing on the trunk to harvest the olives by hand, at the time, was difficult and for this reason the farmer commended himself to the Saints.

Once at the mill, a small part of the oil extracted from those olives was placed in the steel container to be returned to the church. This time full. «For this reason it was called oil of the saints, because it was given to the priests who used it to feed the votive lanterns».

«Oil processing requires commitment because we never stop - admits Aurora - but I can say that it is worth it. The olive of Vico Equense is an excellent product that we must defend».

A small moment of relaxation, under the pergola in the yard with some hens scratching around there. All around a vegetable garden, greenhouses for flowers and a small garden with a swing. There is a lot of work to do, but the air you breathe is good country air, a stone's throw from a mountain overlooking the sea. It is not surprising that this is a place of churches and monasteries: at certain times of the day it really seems you are close to heaven.