NEW OIL IN ANTIQUE TERRACOTTA JARS IN THE ORCIAIA
A RETURN TO THE ORIGINS: THE RESTORATION OF THE OLD TRADITION OF USING THE ORCI FOR PRESERVING EXTRA VIRGIN OIL AT THE FATTORIA DEL COLLE DI TREQUANDA
For centuries, extra virgin olive oil has been stored in terracotta jars, an old method that today risks being lost due to the difficulty of adapting the jars to health standards and preserving the oil from oxidation. Donatella Cinelli Colombini has decided to bring this tradition back to life with an ambitious and complex restoration, giving new life to the olive oil culture of Trequanda.
INSPIRATION: VILLA LE CORTI AND L’ORCIAIA IN IMPRUNETA
Three years ago, a visit to Duccio Corsini’s Villa Le Corti lit the spark of this adventure. In that historic estate, the oil is still stored for a few weeks in enormous terracotta jars from Impruneta, a traditional Tuscan material. Prince Corsini revealed to Donatella that his oil sells quickly and at very high prices, making her see an extraordinary opportunity.
THE SEARCH FOR JARS AND THE CREATION OF THE NEW ORCIAIA
At the Fattoria del Colle, Donatella started counting the ancient jars, mostly used as decorative elements, finding 24 of them. But where to make the orciaia room? The solution came unexpectedly: a television report on bank robbers and the saws with which they cut reinforced concrete gave the right idea. With the help of her technician, Fabio Ligioni, Donatella found a company capable of using the same tool to open a door in two old reinforced concrete wine vats placed side by side, made by her great-grandfather and unused for years. Thus two new spaces were created, covered and sanitized, ready to accommodate the jars and guarantee optimal conditions for the conservation of the oil.
THE RESTORATION OF OLD JARS
The next step was the restoration of the first three jars, over one hundred years old. An operation not without challenges: sandblasting, internal vitrification to make them washable and, above all, the problem of hermetic closure. No one had ever tried to make these ancient containers completely compliant with the needs of oil and consumers.
Thanks to the meticulous work coordinated by Cecilia Sacchi and carried out by Nicola della Barba for the vitrification and the collaboration with expert craftsmen such as Simone Bernardini of ENOS and Pierluigi Coppi, a way was found to guarantee the perfect preservation of the oil. A closing system with a silicone edge and a double steel ring tightened by clamps allows for a hermetic closure and therefore saturates the jars with inert gas, protecting the oil from oxidation.
THE DREAM: AN OIL FROM TREQUANDA WITH A UNIQUE CHARACTER
This restoration project is not just a nostalgic operation, but a real bet for the future. Trequanda, with its Pliocene sand soils, is an exceptional area for the production of EVO oil. Here the olive groves have always been organic, thanks to the natural absence of the oleic fly. And the production of terracotta jars, active since the Renaissance in the hamlet of Petroio, completes the picture of a tradition that deserves to be valorised.
The final objective is to give new impetus to local oil production and protect the rural landscape of Trequanda from being abandoned, recognized in the National Register of Historic Rural Landscapes for its extraordinary agricultural biodiversity.
TUSCAN TERRACOTTA JARS
It is right to explain that the jars are olive-shaped jars of different sizes and of different ages. In Tuscany they are mainly produced in Impruneta, near Florence, but there is also a small production in Petroio in the municipality of Trequanda where Fattoria del Colle is located. They are easily distinguishable: those from Impruneta are pink and those from Petroio are yellow.
The most complicated part in reusing jars for preserving oil is their hermetic closure to saturate them with inert gas and guarantee perfect preservation of the oil. Until now, in fact, no one had tried. At Villa Le Corti, the jars are closed with ceramic lids without a watertight seal and the oil remains there only for a few days. At the Tenuta di Vignamaggio, on the other hand, the jars have a steel cylinder inside.
THE ORCIAIA: A NOVELTY FOR VISITORS AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE
In addition to representing an important production challenge, the orciaia also becomes a new stop in tourist visits to Fattoria del Colle. A place that tells a story of rebirth and innovation while respecting tradition. And soon, visitors will be able to taste a preview of the EVO oil preserved in the jars, an experience that combines history, taste and sustainability.
An ambitious project, that of Donatella Cinelli Colombini, which could transform into a distinctive feature for Trequanda and its precious extra virgin olive oil.