Mas de Barberans - Santi Martorell
"Olive oil,
Your ever-flowing peace, your green essence,
Your heaped-up treasure
Which descends
In streams from the olive tree."
Pablo Neruda
"Olive oil,
Your ever-flowing peace, your green essence,
Your heaped-up treasure
Which descends
In streams from the olive tree."
Pablo Neruda
The territory
About a two-hour drive south of Barcelona, on both sides of the Sénia River and around the Tossal del Rei mountain, junction between Aragon, Catalonia and the Valencian Community there are 27 municipalities which in addition to sharing history, language and culture also shares a unique natural heritage: the largest concentration of millenary olive trees in the world.
Plana de La Galera - Joan Maria Ventura
The
history
The Territori Sénia is crossed by the Via Augusta, the Roman road that linked the Iberian Peninsula with Rome. On this route a powerful agricultural and commercial community was established and it is not surprising then that the oldest specimens are found close to this path. The oldest olive tree is 1704 years of age, planted in the year 314 AD, during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great, probably the oldest scientifically dated olive tree in the world.
The olive trees
There are almost 5.800 trees, of which 96% is of the Farga variety, Olea Europaea L, and about 1,700 are registered as productive. However only 800 of these olive trees produce oil. The small number of producing trees make this oil a unique and very scarce product.
Olivera de les 4 potes - Canet Lo Roig - Santi Martorell
International recognitions and awards
• Honorary diploma of the Mediterranean Diet Foundation (2012)
• Hispania Nostra Award - Banco Santander Foundation (2013)
• European Union Award - Europa Nostra Awards (2014)
• Special Mention of the Council of Europe Landscape Award (2016)
• Election by the International Olive Council: celebration of World Olive Day (2017)
• European Heritage Stories Award from the Council of Europe and the European Commission (2018)
• Honorary Member of the Council of Europe’s European Olive Route (2019)
• Re.CO.Med Award for Best Monumental Olive Tree in the Mediterranean (2019)
• Recognition by FAO as a World Agricultural Heritage System (2019)
