The Gold of the Park
Torre Guaceto State Nature Reserve is situated in the municipal territory of Carovigno and Brindisi and covers a surface area of 1,114 ha, out of which 864 ha (the 77%) are interested by agricultural cultivations. This feature highlights the importance of the agricultural vocation of the protected area. The historical olive groves cover a surface area of 260 ha and are situated in a homogeneous and well-defined area corresponding to the last slopes of the hilly area of the Murgia.
The centuries-old olive trees belong to the variety Ogliarola Salentina. The area in the territory of Carovigno lies in the district of the extra-virgin olive oil "PDO Collina di Brindisi". Since the establishment of the Nature Reserve, the Park Authority has considered essential to involve the farmers in the planning of the measures to adopt in the Park Area, to the extent that the Park Regulations, the Management Plan, and the Social and Economic Development Plan have been drawn with the collaboration of the farmers. Without a doubt, oil represents today the local product par excellence. In the territory of Torre Guaceto Reserve, it has become the protagonist of a significant project for the production of the "Gold of the Park", an extra-virgin olive oil obtained with organic methods from the centuries-old olive trees of Torre Guaceto. The reasons enhancing its quality depend on the cultivated varieties (Ogliarola and Cellina di Nardò), the ideal climate, the structure of the hilly and calcareous soil giving the opportunity to obtain a product with a very low acidity level. Born from the effort and passion of the Management Consortium of Torre Guaceto and the farmers working in the Nature Reserve, the Gold of the Park is the demonstration that practicing another kind of agriculture is possible: respecting the environment, the traditions, the ancient wisdom of the earth, the work, and human dignity.
