Welcome to the Olive Garden! (With us, you're family!)

What is Italian food without olive oil? Well after my experience here so far I can tell you it would not exist.

Olive oil is not only a very important part of the diet here, but the olive oil industry is a large part of the Italian economy. As a school, we went to see the olive oil making process first hand from tree to table. 

Of course, we always make multiple stops in one day. Before heading over to the grove, we saw La Chiesa di San Pietro in Tuscania, and had lunch with spectacular views. It was a lovely way to anticipate our busy afternoon.

When we arrived to start picking the olives, we were greeted by a lovely family that has been working in Canino ("little dog"- how's that for a town name!) for years. They offered us many ways to pick the trees including with a rake, by hand, or more conventionally via machine. It was so much fun to go after the trees as a group, and if I do say so myself we were very successful. I was climbing on top of other people's shoulders and throwing olives at someone as they came of the tree- a traditional "romantic" gesture here.

After the picking itself, we took a tour of a factory in Canino that told us exactly how they go about making olive oil. Who knew it was such a specific process! Also, they are very picky when it comes to the parts of the olive they use and even which ones they will accept from the local farmers. The best part had to be the tasting at the end. The factory provided us with bruschetta (brew-sket-ta) that was absolutely delicious and fresh. I have to say, just oil and toasted bread doesn't usually appeal to me, but it sure was tasty!