History

The oldest olive oil tasting school in the world has developed a training methodology over the years that deals with every phase of the production process for olive oil, developing the various themes from the standpoint of being completely open towards the Mediterranean and extra-Mediterranean production areas.

The Members, who are the heart and engine of O.N.A.O.O., and are scattered throughout the planet, represent a constant interchange of creative energies which has allowed for continuous growth over the years. The numerous courses, developed in cooperation with the scientific and university worlds, are alternated with opportunities for cultural exchange, such as the annual trips to Spain, Greece, Morocco and Portugal.

The Training Location

The property was called "U Gumbu du Biscialla" and was nicknamed "Giromela", possibly from the name of its first owner.
At one point, an entire family lived in the oil press, located on State Road 28, and worked the olives, exactly as in the over 200 olive oil presses that operated in our Valleys, producing the precious Mediterranean product that for centuries was one of the principal resources of the life of the Western Ligurian peoples. It is said that the building goes back to 1875. In 1903, it was purchased by the Badalino family, which sold it in 1969. The building is currently the property of the Chamber of Commerce of Imperia, which has undertaken a recovery project to create a multipurpose structure for courses on Mediterranean Nutrition.
At the beginning of the 1900s, the Giromela Oil press consisted of two floors below street level, with the typical vaulted ceiling, where the oil press was located. Above those areas was a large room called the “loft,” a storage area for the olives.
The floor of this room had holes, from which the olives were pushed down with a shovel and ended up in the grinder. There was also a large kitchen with a masonry oven, a room for the men, a common room and two bedrooms; they were both work areas and the location of daily life, in an epoch, not so long ago, in which the value of time was different. Now the upper area consists of a single large room, but the general appearance of the oil press has not changed.
Its visible, antique stones still express the flavor of times past, and remind us of the toils of many men who worked to extract the tasty and golden food which today is recognized throughout the world as one of the most precious, nutritious and healthy products of Mediterranean Nutrition.   

Meeting Room

Exhibition Room

Panel Test Room

Tasting Cabin