Sabina Olive Harvest
- Property type: Estates
- Sleeps: 8
- Region: Lazio
- Location: Sabina
- Bedrooms: 4
- Bathrooms: 4
- Swimming pool: None
- View Map
Experience... the olive harvest
Fifty kilometres north-east of Rome, following the eastern bank of the Tiber River and the Sabine Hills, lies the territory of Sabina. It is a magical land of castles, little towns connected by lovely, winding roads, elegant restaurants and family run taverne, and breath-taking scenery wherever you go. Europe's oldest olive tree lives in the Sabina too (Canneto di Fara), some 2000 years old, and still produces a heavy crop each year, not surprising as the Sabina is famous for it's olive oil. Hard to believe it's only an hour from Rome...
Join your hosts in Sabina for a few days of living the olive oil experience; visiting farms and mills, see olive picking demonstrations, join in an olive oil tasting lesson, have dinner or lunch at producers places and visit the olive oil museum and the Oleoteca in Farfa. It may be possible to join in the olive picking but it is hard work and would be dependent on which producers are harvesting at the time of your visit. In Sabina you can also enjoy touring beautiful historical monuments, day trips into Rome, the rolling countryside, visiting wine and food producers, shopping at the local open markets and learn how to cook traditional family Italian recipes, first-hand.
We will arrange accommodation for you at Colle Cesoni, a beautifully restored ancient hamlet with four apartments set on a hill and offering one of the most superb views of the Farfa River Valley. Accommodation is supplied on a self catering basis but it is possible to change this to B&B if preferred.
To give you, the interested and independent traveller, the greatest flexibility to enjoy the experience and your holiday, the prices quoted are for accommodation and car hire only. Additional costs for the 'olive oil experience' are minimal and where charges do apply you pay locally. We will arrange with Giovanni (your host) who will formulate a detailed programme for you of visits to farms, olive mills (modern and ancient) and the Oleoteca in Farfa, etc. The only costs involved would be for lunch or dinner (average cost Euro 30 per person, wine included) in one or two farms where they would have the olive picking and olive oil tasting demonstrations (free of charge). Other costs would be the entrance fee at Farfa Abbey and Olive Oil museum (average 5 euro per person). Giovanni will take care of booking such visits and will advise on the route.
If you fancy it we can also arrange for you to participate in an easy and wonderful walking excursion to the ruins of an ancient roman mill located on the Farfa river (about 1 hour) and to an ancient rural roman villa under excavation (about 1 hour) surrounded by the oldest olives trees of the area. The excursion, including an English speaking guide, costs €14 per person and again is payable locally.
What's the catch? There isn't one; quite simply, Traditional Tuscany and the people who live in Sabina are very positive about encouraging responsible tourism. Sabina is a fantastically unspoilt area that, for the moment, remains relatively undiscovered by the tourist market. We discovered it and we want you to discover and enjoy it too...
You may like to know that...
The Reatine Valley, with its Franciscan sanctuaries, Farfa Abbey, for centuries a witness to the power of the Roman Church, the Romanesque churches of Vescovio and Santa Vittoria, the archaeological sites and ancient Roman town of Trebula Mutuesca and Forum Novum as well as, the national parks, and the capital city Rieti are among the many attractions in Sabina. From here, along pleasant country roads, you can easily reach the lakes of Bracciano and Bolsena, and within one hour's drive, some of the most important artistic sights of central Italy, such as Spoleto, Orvieto and Assisi.
Colle Cesoni is only an hours drive from Rome (or for the faint hearted you can always take the train). The best way to see Rome is to WALK! Rome is a large city, but in between bus or tram rides, see as much as you can on foot. The Eternal city, as it is fondly known, is famous for its piazzas and fountains and the best way to see these is as a pedestrian. If you really don't fancy walking you could a) opt for an inexpensive tour of Rome's historical sites by taking the 2-hour trip on the number 110 bus from Termini station at 2:30 pm (Monday through Saturday). b) Ride the bus or tram. Rome offers a network of more than 200 bus and tram routes, including 27 night bus routes. c) Get an integrated "Metrebus" ticket, which will allow you access to all the major modes of public transport within central Rome, with the exception of the airport link. You can get daily, weekly or season tickets.
What to see... we loved it all so our advice is to go, look and just enjoy!
Orvieto is a small city of great antiquity, so ancient that its early history is uncertain. It occupies a slowly crumbling butte of volcanic tufa, riddled with hundreds of caves, wells and tunnels of every period from Etruscan to medieval to 17c and later; slowly crumbling away as are many such hills in the area (the most famous of which is nearby Cívita di Bagnoregio) and constantly maintained and shored up by massive engineering works. The city is known worldwide for one principal monument, the Duomo, the great glory of Orvieto and a masterpiece of Italian Gothic art. The basic building is quite sober, constructed of bands of black and white stone; but a most extraordinary facade has been applied to it: bronze dragons, gables with mosaics resplendent in gold, and a marvelous shirt-front of marble bas-reliefs by Lorenzo Maitani. Similarly the interior is very sober except for one large chapel entirely covered in dramatic frescoes by Luca Signorelli: famous in their own right, but also the chief inspiration for Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel...
Rieti occupies the geographical centre of Italy – with a plaque in Piazza di San Rufo to prove it. In the days of the Romans this was a key region, the so-called Umbilicus Italiae. You may visit the Duomo and the Palazzo Vescovile. In the surroundings lies Greccio, a small town with a Franciscan monastery; here St. Francis created the first ever Christmas crib – a real life nativity scene is re-enacted every year. Known in ancient times as Reate, the Roman Emperor Vespasian (the man who built the Coliseum) was born nearby and his sons Titus and Domitian also considered this area the family home. Today's Thermal Baths of Cotilia are close to the ruins of Vespasian's. There is a restaurant in Rieti whose walls reveal the foundations of an ancient temple, and it is possible to visit the archeological remains under today's Via Roma, the Via Roma of 2000 years ago, which the ancient Romans walked, and which lead to the bridge which crosses the River Velino; the original Roman bridge's remains still visible below the modern bridge...
Farfa Abbey profoundly influenced the history of the whole of the Sabina area, having controlled, during it's "golden age", nearly all the nearby towns and villages. But it wasn't only important on a local level, in fact it was one of the most powerful Benedictine monasteries in Europe and played a major role in the power struggles between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, opposing the power of the Papacy for centuries. The role of the Abbey in conserving knowledge and culture and in spreading new technologies during a period of instability, invasions and depopulation caused by plague should not be underestimated. Farfa Abbey played a vital role not only in the religious and political life of the area but also in it's economic development. This is demonstrated by the importance of the Farfa Fair, which already existed in 882 AD Thanks to generous concessions from the Caroline Empire Farfa became a focal point for trade with an important weekly market.
