lives are native to Sardinia and have always been part of the island’s natural flora. The discovery of ancient Phoenician and Roman shipwrecks, with loads of wine and oil amphorae, are proof that there was a thriving oil trade between Sardinia and the main ports of early Mediterranean civilizations.
After the year 1000, during the religious revival of the Middle Ages, monasteries were established across the island. These monasteries produced oil, further expanding the already existing groves, as documented in a variety of their records that remain today.
The number of olive groves also grew during the centuries of Spanish rule, when individual farmers were expected to plant at least 10 new olive trees a year, or to pay a penalty of 40 soldi. The laws also stated that the olive trees were owned by whoever had planted them. A farmer who owned over 500 olive trees was required by law to build his own oil mill.
Spain in that period also brought in numerous botanical experts to train the local farmers in the art of grafting and arboriculture.
The Spanish were not the only historical rulers who strove to foster olive growth in Sardinia. During the 17th Century the Savoy kings introduced new laws to enhance the cultivation of olives. They made it compulsory to mark the boundaries between rural properties with olive trees and they required that wild trees be grafted to cultivated stock within three years. They also established a reward system for farmers who expanded their groves.
