Olivar Santamaria

Agrestis is based in Buccheri, a small town in the hinterland of Syracuse. The whole area, at an altitude of about 820 meters above sea level, is made of steep hills, beautiful woods, and ravines and the olives represent a culture for centuries. Giuseppe Paparone and Lorenzo Nicotra, launched the small cooperative in 2003, to protect the century-old trees growing on the steep lands nearby and to turn domestic production into a quality business. From the beginning, the main philosophy for their project consists in guarantee high quality for a “precious aliment” which is the expression of the Sicilian traditions. They currently own about 10.000 trees, meaning hard and continuous work all year long to check every tree’s blossoming stages.