The Territory
Our vision is inspired by the French concept of cru. Every single grove possesses an unrepeatable identity: a precise terroir, a variety, a soil. Seven locations across the Upper Etruscan Tuscia, between Canino and Tessennano. Seven oil characters that simply could not exist elsewhere.
The Two Municipalities
of Alta Tuscia
First mentioned in the 9th century in a document by Pope Leo IV, Canino belongs to a territory whose history dates back to the Etruscan civilization: it was part of the Lucumonia of Vulci, one of the most powerful settlements in Etruria between the 7th and 5th centuries BC, and a major hub for trade with Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean.
In the following centuries, these lands came under the rule of the great families of the Italian aristocracy. The Farnese family exercised their power here for a long time, leaving a profound mark on the architecture and agricultural organization of the entire Alta Tuscia. In the nineteenth century, it was Lucien Bonaparte — Napoleon's brother and Prince of Canino from 1814 — who brought these lands back to the attention of cultured Europe: passionate about archaeology, he financed excavations that brought to light thousands of Etruscan artifacts, which are now preserved in the world's leading museums.
Founded according to legend by Ascanius, son of Aeneas, Tessennano was likely of Etruscan origin and served in antiquity as a post station along the road connecting Tuscania to Canino — a vital artery of that trade network that made Etruria great.
In the modern era, Tessennano also gravitated toward the orbit of the great noble families that ruled Alta Tuscia. The Farnese family, with their vast estates between Viterbo and the Tyrrhenian Sea, left indelible traces on the land ownership structure of these villages and on the villas that still dot the surrounding countryside. A borderland between history and nature, where the Mediterranean scrub and northern winds continue to forge olive oil characters of rare complexity.