All About Olivagando, Umbria’s Well-known Olive Oil Competition
5.1K
Is olive oil the key behind Italian delicacies and longevity? Italians definitely suppose so: they name it oro liquido (liquid gold) and eat a median of 16 kilos of olive oil yearly! In Italy, you discover it in all places: from the pantry to moisturizers, soaps, and sweetness merchandise.
No surprise there’s an annual Italian pageant solely devoted to this golden elixir. It’s known as Olivagando. And right here’s every little thing it’s essential find out about it.
What’s Olivagando?
Olivagando is a two-day pageant in Magione, a captivating city in central Italy. The occasion is held in mid-November (October and November are the harvesting months in Italy), and it celebrates olive oil with tasting, guided excursions, and workshops.
Olivagando is a made-up phrase mixing oliva (olive) and vagando (wandering), a playful nod to exploring each land and product. It additionally refers to divulgando (sharing data), highlighting the pageant’s instructional mission.
The place is the Olivagando pageant in Italy?
Are you desirous about including Olivagando to your Italian itinerary? Nice concept! However the place precisely does it happen?
Olivagando is held in Magione, a beautiful hilltop city on the east shore of the Trasimeno Lake in Umbria, between Tuscany and Marche.
The village is simply 13 miles from the gorgeous Perugia and has a protracted historical past. It’s first talked about in a doc courting again to 1075, although it was often called Pian di Carpine. The present identify comes from the presence of a magione (a medieval vacationers’ lodge) established by the Knights of Malta to help pilgrims on their journey to Rome.
That shelter is now the Fort of Magione, which you’ll be able to go to by appointment. It frequently hosts native wine tastings and experiences.
Different pageant places round Magione
Most mill excursions are in close by places, like San Feliciano, Villa, or Monte del Lago. These are historical medieval hamlets that grew to become a part of larger Magione. Every village has its appeal, and exploring them in the course of the pageant is a superb alternative for locating the distinctive character of this area.
What to anticipate on the olive oil pageant
As Italians say: Di tutto e di più! (Every thing and extra!)
Yearly, there are many occasions to get pleasure from at Olivigando. The soul of the gathering is tastings, meals stalls, and dwell experiences. However there are additionally many dwell music exhibits, youngsters’ workshops, and fascinating roundtable talks.
Out of doors experiences: Olive groves and nature trails
Among the finest methods to get pleasure from Olivagando is to take part in unforgettable trekking or horse driving excursions via olive groves and native oil mills—usually with tastings included.
As you uncover the countryside, it’s a fantastic likelihood to check all these Italian expressions you’ve been working towards with fellow individuals!
Native flavors and olive oil delights
For those who’re a meals lover, you’ll particularly get pleasure from this half. The important thing occasion at Olivagando is named DegustaTu (degusta means “style,” and tu means “you”).
On Saturday and Sunday evenings, dozens of meals distributors create a novel gastronomic route the place guests can pattern small plates and drinks as they stroll from stand to face. From conventional zuppa di lenticchie (lentil soup) or bruschetta, to native wines and extra artistic bites like gelato all’olio d’oliva (olive oil ice cream), there’s one thing to please each palate. And don’t miss the possibility to finish on a candy observe with a slice of olive oil cake, finest loved with a superb Italian espresso.
Olive oil competitors: La dolce goccia
The pageant additionally hosts an official competitors known as La dolce goccia (the candy drop), the place skilled and beginner producers compete with the olive oil they’ve created that yr. It’s enjoyable and instructive if you wish to go deeper into the olive oil scene.
Seasonal flavors: olio novello
Throughout the pageant, look ahead to tastings of olio novello or olio nuovo (new oil), the primary urgent of the season. The so-called oro verde (inexperienced gold) is a real delicacy with a vibrant inexperienced hue and peppery taste. It’s finest loved uncooked and solely out there for a number of brief weeks. So, if somebody affords you a style, there’s just one right reply: an enthusiastic “sure” in Italian.
Tasty vocabulary to make use of whereas in Umbria
The chart under is a useful cheat sheet that will help you acknowledge and luxuriate in some scrumptious meals and merchandise you’ll encounter at Olivagando. And you may all the time study extra meals vocabulary in Italian to really feel assured about what you’re consuming!
| Italian | English | Description |
| arvoltolo | Umbrian fried dough | candy or savory |
| bruschetta | toasted/grilled bread slice | normally topped with contemporary tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil |
| cipollata | Umbrian onion stew | candy onions slow-cooked in olive oil |
| Colli del Trasimeno DOP | Trasimeno Hills DOP olive oil | additional virgin olive oil with protected designation of origin |
| crostini | small toasted bread slices | crunchy bites with spreads (pâté, mushrooms, and so on.) |
| focaccia | mushy flatbread with olive oil and salt | typically topped with olives, onions, or cheese |
| olio d’oliva | olive oil | made by mixing refined and further virgin olive oil |
| olio additional vergine d’oliva | additional virgin olive oil (EVOO) | made solely by cold-pressing olives (highest high quality) |
| olio novello/nuovo | season’s first olive oil | fresh-pressed olive oil |
| torcolo | Umbrian candy bread ring | ring-shaped vacation cake |
| torta all’olio | olive oil cake | mild and mushy, made with olive oil as a substitute of butter |
| vin brulè | mulled wine | spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and orange |
Are you able to style genuine bruschetta with premium olio d’oliva and mix in at Italian festivals like an area?
From studying find out how to order meals in Italian to chatting with fellow festival-goers, a little bit of the Italian language turns each chew and each second right into a richer expertise. For those who begin now, you’ll be greater than prepared for the subsequent version of Olivagando: Study the language behind the flavors with Rosetta Stone.
