Parco dell'Olivo di Venafro

The Olive Tree Park of Venafro protects a historic landscape of olive groves, Roman farm remains and dry-stone terraces on the slopes below the town. Its olive-growing tradition extends across more than two millennia.

Why it matters

Established in 2008 as a regional agricultural-historic park, the protected area covers about 528 hectares. In 2018 the landscape was entered in the national Register of Historic Rural Landscapes and Traditional Agricultural Practices. It is an unusual protected landscape centred on a cultivated tree and the rural practices associated with it.

What to notice

Olive groves climb from the plain onto rocky slopes, where dry-stone terraces support cultivation and help limit erosion. The oldest trees have broad, gnarled trunks. Local cultivars include Aurina, identified with the ancient Licinia olive, as well as Pallante, Rotondella, Rossuola, Gragnano and Lagrimella. Roman-era features among the groves include terraces, farm remains, cisterns and fortifications.

Context and history

Roman sources praised the oil of Venafrum. Local tradition, recorded in a landscape survey, tells that a Roman veteran named Licinio brought olives to the area; the local varieties were consequently known as liciniane. The landscape extends beyond the park across more than 900 hectares around the town. Modern recognition includes the 2018 national historic-rural-landscape listing; the local oil also carries DOP Molise certification.