Itrana Olives
The dual-purpose olive of Lazio: cured ripe, it becomes the famous Gaeta olive.
The Itrana is the olive of southern Lazio, around Itri and the Pontine hills — and another fine example of one cultivar wearing several famous names. Cured ripe and dark, it becomes the celebrated Gaeta table olive ; picked very late and pale, it is sold as the oliva bianca ; and pressed, it gives a fresh, fruity, well-balanced oil. Genuinely versatile, and protected in its region.
- Origin
- Lazio (Itri/Pontine) · Italy
- Type
- Table & oil
- Colour
- Green to black
- Cured ripe as
- Gaeta olive
- Flavour (oil)
- Fresh, fruity, balanced
- Note
- Same cultivar as Gaeta
- Best for
- Table olives and oil
One cultivar, several names
Like the Nocellara/Castelvetrano story in Sicily, the Itrana shows how olive names follow preparation and place. The Itrana is the variety. Cured ripe, it is the soft, mild, purple-black olive most of the world knows as Gaeta. Picked unusually late, it makes a pale, mild “white” olive. And much of the crop simply goes to the press for a fresh, fruity oil under the Colline Pontine designation.
Because “Gaeta” is famous and loosely used, some “Gaeta” olives abroad are not the real Itrana from Lazio but cheaper dark olives cured to imitate the style. The genuine article is the Itrana cultivar from its protected region. See the Gaeta page for the full story.