Appearance is one thing, but the famously colorful bottles from Frantoio Muraglia contain a valuable content. Extra virgin olive oil produced and certified according to current ecological and quality standards. This is good for enjoyment and proven to be good for health as well. Off to Andria.
Appearance is one thing, but the famously colorful bottles from Frantoio Muraglia contain a valuable content. Extra virgin olive oil produced and certified according to current ecological and quality standards. This is good for enjoyment and proven to be good for health as well. Off to Andria.
In Apulia lies the capital of Italian olive oil: Andria. For over 80 years, the best that olives can offer has been pressed here at Frantoio Muraglia. Liquid gold. Harvesting is done by hand, but the biodiversity in the olive groves and throughout the company’s agricultural landscape is also carefully preserved. “Enhancing and improving are our favorite words,” says Savino Muraglia. He runs the company founded by his grandfather, Savino the Elder.
However, the true king on the grounds has been the gnarled Coratina olive tree for nearly 500 years. In its habitat, it has probably seen everything there is to see, but it would never have made it out into the world alone. For that, you need at least a testa dura – a visionary stubbornness. Someone like Savino the Elder had. He founded Frantoio Muraglia and was convinced from the start that only with your own mill can you control the quality of the oil. This also allows for controlling the rapid processing of the olives. And that is exactly what matters when you want to produce quality. No one knows this better here than Savino’s son: Vincenzo – the master of oil.
Central to this is the rapid processing time of the harvested olives to avoid unwanted fermentation processes and a closed extraction process so that oxygen contact (oxidation) is almost completely excluded. However, the secret to quality begins in the company’s own olive groves and their natural care. The olive trees are deliberately not treated like sterile production machines because excessive stress harms the internal quality of the fruit. The secret also lies in a precise dialogue with time: harvesting is done through targeted early picking. They do not wait until the fruit turns black and overripe to artificially maximize the quantity of oil. It is precisely in the still unripe, green fruit that the maximum aromas and bioactive substances are hidden.
This philosophy is further reflected in manual harvesting, short delivery routes, temperature control throughout the production process, and—as mentioned—in the rapid further processing in their own mill. Only in this way can consistently fresh, fruity, or simply perfect olive oils be produced that truly deliver.
They tickle lightly in the throat and are more than just a mere seasoning. Thanks to their nutritional properties, they are considered a fundamental building block of the Mediterranean diet. A food that benefits human health in many ways and can certainly be viewed through the lens of longevity. High-quality olive oil is no longer just a good culinary companion but a genuine, highly active nutrient.
When olive oil is bitter and pungent, these are not production defects but “stinging” arguments for quality. From a nutritional science perspective, these attributes are the direct sensory experience of health. The more pronounced the pungency and bitterness, the more valuable polyphenols and active substances the oil contains. This sensation is partly caused by oleocanthal, a polyphenol with anti-inflammatory properties. Polyphenols are antioxidants that combat free radicals, slow cell aging, and can protect the cardiovascular system. Once they reach the body, they carry anti-inflammatory and epigenetic information that can even positively influence the expression of our DNA. As a functional food par excellence, the living oil communicates directly with our organs and specifically protects against widespread metabolic disorders as well as problems with the liver, intestines, and brain.
While many people today seek such active substances isolated in chemical supplements, the polyphenols in olive oil unfold their maximum biological activity precisely because they are harmoniously enclosed in this natural, plant-based phytocomplex. The Coratina variety is considered the queen of polyphenols and contains up to three times more polyphenols than other varieties.
But when talking about health and olive oil, many other aspects also play a role. To better understand them, the Muraglias work, among others, with Sara Farnetti. She is a specialist in internal medicine, an expert in functional medical nutrition, holds a doctorate in the research field of pathophysiology of metabolism and nutrition, and an honorary doctorate in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical sciences and technologies. She enriches the traditional Mediterranean diet and lifestyle with current scientific findings, which in turn places high-quality olive oil as a daily companion in a different context. Since everything in the human body, as in nature, strives for balance, daily supply with such living nutrients leads to true vitality. “The culture of health arises from enjoyment,” she says.
But the basic prerequisite to also stand the test of time with olive oil in this regard is an uncompromising obsession with quality. It is the unconditional dedication to the terroir, to nature, to biodiversity, and the will to handle it gently. Forty hectares of Coratina olive groves do not take care of themselves. Agriculture is a matter of honor; here they are “una famiglia prima che un’azienda,” first a family and only then a business.
Among other things, they also research carbon topics and advocate for renewable energy sources and organic fertilizers. In the spirit of a true, harmonious circular economy, for example, the water contained in the olive pulp during the extraction process is systematically collected, treated, and returned as nitrogen-rich agricultural fertilizer to the groves, directly benefiting the soil. Traditional production waste thus becomes new, valuable tools for agriculture, reducing not only environmental impact but also fertilizer costs. They have also put the water consumption of production on their radar. With all methods already applied, it is continuously decreasing.
Half of the production from Frantoio Muraglia is exported in colorfully painted bottles. Alongside the countless awards the oil has won over the years, this is another great success for grandfather Savino’s original vision: At the beginning of his efforts, he was repeatedly confronted with the claim that you could no longer make your fortune with olives in Apulia. That may be true, especially when you know that fortune with olive oil is reserved only for the sustainably diligent. Nature and the olive trees teach us anew every day: consistent, respectful care produces outstanding oil, and this oil generates direct well-being and longevity.
