Merenda nell'Oliveta

Merenda nell'Oliveta in Carlantino: The oil of the Daunian Mountains takes center stage

Every spring, the olive groves of Carlantino, a small village in the Daunian Mountains in the Province of Foggia, become the stage for a day dedicated to extra virgin olive oil and rural culture. Merenda nell'Oliveta is the Carlantino stop of a national project promoted by the National Association of Oil Cities (Associazione Nazionale Città dell'Olio), which involves dozens of Italian municipalities every year in telling the story of this 'green gold.' In Carlantino, the initiative finds a unique setting: ancient olive trees overlooking Lake Occhito, one of the largest artificial reservoirs in Europe, fed by the Fortore River on the border between Puglia and Molise.

A Sunday among ancient olive trees and Lake Occhito

The day begins at 10:00 AM with a welcome breakfast, followed by a walk through the village's lush olive groves. Walking among the ancient trees, with your gaze lost over the waters of Lake Occhito, is the heart of the experience: a simple and authentic way to rediscover the agricultural landscape of the Daunian Subappennino and the value of an olive-growing heritage passed down from generation to generation.

Tastings, rural lunch, and folk music

The highlight is the tasting of local extra virgin olive oil, accompanied by a rural lunch set up among the olive trees with a view of the lake. Genuine flavors, typical products of the Daunia region, and traditional peasant dishes are combined with the folk songs and dances of the "Franz" folk group, which enlivens the day with local music. It is a convivial festival where taste, nature, and identity merge into a single experience.

Carlantino, City of Oil since 2023

The Municipality of Carlantino joined the National Association of Oil Cities in 2023 as part of an overall project to enhance the territory and its typical products. The village has a strong olive-growing vocation: promoting local oil responds to the economic and tourism development needs of the community, which sees 'green gold' as an identity resource and a lever for promoting the Daunian Mountains.

A national project uniting over eighty municipalities

Merenda nell'Oliveta was born as a national initiative of the Città dell'Olio Association, founded in 1994 and based in Monteriggioni: every year, it unites over eighty cities in eighteen Italian regions in a single calendar of events dedicated to extra virgin olive oil. In Puglia, alongside Carlantino, municipalities such as Castelluccio Valmaggiore, Sannicandro di Bari, Melendugno, and Canosa di Puglia participate. For those who want to know the authentic soul of the Daunia region, Merenda nell'Oliveta is much more than a tasting: it is an invitation to rediscover the rural roots of Puglia and celebrate oil as a symbol of community and landscape.