Italy is one of the world’s largest oil and olive producers but some olive trees, as well as being used to derive these two products, also have a historical significance. Did you know that many of these plants are thousands of years old? The region richest in centuries-old olive trees is Puglia: there is an area in Salento called Piana degli Ulivi Millenari (Plain of Millenary Olives), where some of the oldest olive trees in Italy are to be found. Let’s discover some of the most important!

The olive tree of Borgagne – Melendugno (Puglia)

Probably the oldest olive tree in Italy – between 3,000 and 4,000 years old – it is found in Puglia’s Piana degli Ulivi Millenari: its olives are used for the production of Terre d’Otranto PDO Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

centuries-old olive trees

S’Ozzastru – Santo Baltolu di Carana (Sardinia)

This wild olive tree, technically called “oleaster”, comes from the municipality of Luras, in the province of Olbia-Tempio, and has a base circumference of 20 metres, a height of about 14 metres and an age of about 3,500 years, making it one of the oldest trees in Europe.

The olive tree of Villastrada – Villastrada (Umbria)

This is a huge olive tree located in the province of Perugia, near Castiglione del Lago, which has a trunk circumference of 12 metres. It appears to have been planted in the fifth century BC, so it is about 2,500 years old.

centuries-old olive trees

The Trenta Zoccoli olive tree – Pian del Quercione, Massarosa (Tuscany)

This is one of the most famous olive trees in Italy and is located in the province of Lucca: it has a trunk circumference of 10.6 metres but is hollow and horseshoe-shaped. It appears to be between 800 and 1,500 years old and its name comes from a story by writer George Christoph Martini. He writes of having seen 15 olive pickers perched on the tree at the same time, and, consequently, also the 30 clogs (zoccoli) they had been wearing earlier lying at the base of the plant. Since then the olive tree has taken the name we know today.

The millenary olive tree of Palombara Sabina – Palombara Sabina (Lazio)

This is the oldest olive tree in Lazio and stands right next to the town cemetery. It is estimated that this tree is around 3.000 years old and, before an accident that removed a part of the trunk, had a circumference of 12.5 metres. A tradition is linked to this olive tree: it is customary for young local couples to have their photos taken in front of it dressed in wedding attire as a good omen for future life.

centuries-old olive trees

Ulivo della Strega – Magliano in Toscana (Tuscany)

The Ulivo della Strega (Witch’s Olive) in Magliano in Toscana has an estimated age of about 3,500 years, a circumference of 8.5 metres and a height of just under 10 metres. It is said that when the olive tree was at the height of its glory, all forty members of the town’s philharmonic orchestra could shelter under its branches. It seems that its name derives from the legend that a witch danced around the tree for her satanic rituals every Friday.

Olivone di Fibbianello – Semproniano (Tuscany)

The Olivone di Fibbianello is a centuries-old olive tree to be found in the province of Grosseto. At its maximum height it measured more than 21 metres: in the town it is recalled that in the best years of that period this tree even managed to produce 800 kg of olives and three sections of ladders were needed to reach the top. In 1998, unknown persons set fire to the Olivone. Fortunately, the tree was not completely destroyed and new branches have begun to grow in recent years.