lives and olive oil have always played an important role in the economy, cultural and social traditions of Lucca and its surrounding countryside. Local historical records dating back to the 11th and 12th Centuries, include a vast body of rules and regulations controlling the production and sale of olive oil.
One of the most interesting documents, dated January 24, 1241, shows how quality over quantity was emphasized since ancient times. It limited each farmer to sell no more than 22 pounds of olive oil in a given year. If the quality of the olive oil was lower than expected, only 15 pounds could be sold, and the difference was compensated for the following year.
In 1594, as the special organoleptic qualities of Lucca’s olive oil became better known outside the area, the "Office for Oil" was created to control local olive oil export and trade, with the power to set retail prices and regulate the market.
The farmers of Lucca had a profound knowledge of the olive crop, as it was documented by the Accademia dei Georgofili, one of the oldest and most highly regarded agrarian academies in Tuscany, which in 1800 published a detailed study on the most common diseases effecting that tree.
