produttori — Calenzano · Toscana
On the slopes of Monte Morello, in a valley that climbs toward the coppice woods above, Fattoria di Volmiano preserves over seven hundred years of Tuscan olive growing. Twenty thousand trees, four native varieties, a landscape the Gondi-Citernesi family has chosen to leave untouched.
The more than twenty thousand Leccino, Moraiolo, Frantoio and Pendolino trees trace orderly rows down the slopes of Monte Morello. The estate is listed among the historic businesses recognised by the Camera di Commercio (Chamber of Commerce) as a specialised olive grove: a classification that acknowledges not just scale, but the consistency of a farming system that has stayed true to itself for centuries.
The entire property is certified organic and lies within an area of community interest: no chemical treatments, no forcing of the seasonal rhythms. The land at Volmiano produces according to its own laws, and the Gondi family has chosen to keep it that way, giving the oil a character that reflects the soil and microclimate of this valley enclosed between Monte Morello and the woods.
Beneath the villa, two oil mills exist side by side: a traditional one, with stone wheels that work as they did centuries ago, and a modern one, with vertical kneading machines and a decanter. This is neither nostalgia nor technological upgrading for its own sake: it is the choice of those who want to control every stage of the process without surrendering wholly to one logic or the other.
Visits to the oil mill and walks among the olive groves are by appointment. The page tells the story of Volmiano in detail: history, varieties and where to find the oil.
