Looking at old photos of Capri, you see beautiful rows of olive trees planted on picturesque terraces with drystone walls extending almost all the way to the sea, images that tell the uniquely Mediterranean story of the Island of the Sirens, which has a history of olive oil production that stretches back into the mists of time.
The tourist boom of the 1950s unfortunately swept away almost all trace of the area’s ancient agricultural tradition, but today, thanks to the environmental spirit of a few visionary entrepreneurs, the community has proudly rediscovered its roots in this land by the sea.
About 50,000 olive trees were salvaged and replanted and the local farmers have been partners since 2014 in the project L’Oro di Capri (Capri gold), producing a 100% organic extra virgin olive oil with extraordinary flavour. The entire community is participating in this sustainable agriculture initiative and the island’s students are involved in the planting of new trees to strengthen their environmental awareness.
In this project, designed to protect nature in both ecological and anthropological terms, olive oil activates cultural energy and more intense human relationships: an essential resource for the future. Joseph Beuys would have appreciated it as well, having been deeply attached to this island, where he made some of his most iconic works, such as
