You don’t hear the phrase “fit for a king” much these days, and you hear the phrase “fit for an emperor” even less. Put it down to a shortage of kings and emperors, perhaps. But it turns out that the former playground of a former emperor is now producing delicious olive oil; you could say that the slogan writes itself.
The emperor in question is Hadrian, who ruled the Roman Empire in the second century, and whose main legacy is the wall that bears his name in what is now Great Britain. And like a recent article at Atlas Obscura reveals, his former Villa Adriana estate is now home to a multitude of olive trees that produce 1,500 liters of olive oil a year.
Now, the trees on the estate probably weren’t there when Hadrian walked the earth – but the article notes that at least one dates to the 13th century. It’s 52 feet high Albero Belloone of at least seven distinct varieties of olive oil grown on the property.
An article from Olive Oil Times offers even more information about the estate, including that Villa Adriana is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So if you’re on the hunt for olive oil and you spot a bottle of Olea Hadriani, know that there’s a lot of history tucked away in there.
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