The Leone d’Oro International awards only the best extra virgin olive oils in the world, which are the result of the commitment and passion of producers from around the world.
Leone d’Oro is the oldest olive oil competition in the world, with a view towards the future . We love to take care of small producers and biodiversity too
The Leone d’Oro international
The Leone d’Oro International is much more than a competition.
The Leone d’Oro International is a project about and in constant growth.
We involve olive oil producers and professional tasters in a journey that lasts all year, and at the end, when we will be at the Awards, only a very small group of excellent producers will win one of our prestigious awards.
Courses
We are passionate about olive oil and want to share our knowledge.
How to taste olive oil, how to become a professional olive oil taster, how to improve your tasting skills, all while tasting the most exciting olive oils in the world?
The extra virgin olive oil
The history of olive oil is intertwined with human history like few other stories.
Knowing it often means following our steps and discovering the territory in which we have moved them.
Legend has it that a dispute arose between Athena and Poseidon over the dominion of Attica. The father, Zeus, decreed that the challenge would be won by
who would offer men the most useful gift. Poseidon, god of the sea, offered a splendid war horse, while Athena warrior goddess but also goddess of wisdom, planted her spear on the ground from which a new tree was born: the olive tree.
It was Athena and her olive tree that prevailed: how to beat, in fact, the olive and its juice that nourishes and heals the body, heals wounds and diseases and illuminates buildings and houses?
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Since its inception, the olive tree has therefore always had a sacred and regal character.
If for the Greeks it was the nectar of the Gods, for the Egyptians it was the gift of the Goddess Isis and for the Romans it was a symbol of purification.
The fast ships of the Phoenician merchants brought the olive tree and its cultivation to southern Italy and Spain since the eighth century BC.
The Romans held the olive tree in high esteem and transformed entire provinces of Spain and northern Africa into olive groves.
If during the barbarian invasions, the cultivation of olive trees suffered a setback, the spread of the monasteries around the year 1000 gave an impulse to the olive tree and oil, indispensable for religious celebrations and beyond.
From the Middle Ages to the present day, the pace is long, but over the centuries, olive cultivation has not changed much.
Today, around 1200 olive varieties have been recorded worldwide.
Italy, with more than 450 cultivars (= variety) alone covers 42% of the world’s biodiversity.
Each Italian cultivar tells the variety of our territory and its microclimate, the arduous selection made over the centuries by our ancestors and the culinary culture.
Between flavors and aromas, the oil tells our story.
Here, we continue to tell the evolution of this millennial story that speaks of men and the territory, biodiversity to be protected and heroic agriculture, environmental sustainability and social sustainability, of work and passion and above all of excellence sought and rewarded.
Here, we talk about EVO oil, of course, but we also talk about us.
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