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Olive Picking
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Tuscany - There are some rituals in Italy which are timeless, and have remained virually unchanged throughout the centuries. Olive picking is one of them. It is a fundamental part of autumn and a time to be together with a gathering of friends and family who come, often from afar, to help and participate! It isn't easy work, especially if the weather turns cold and rainy. But as the picking often takes place during "l'estate di San Martino" (basically Indian Summer), that isn't usually the case.
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Picking is begun in the morning as soon as the trees are dry; huge, colorful nets are spread out under the trees. The hand picker hangs a special wicker basket around his or her shoulder and proceeds to pull the olives off the branches. Or one can use small plastic "rakes", pulling them along the branches. The olives are released without damaging the tree, and fall onto the net, which is gently gathered together when all the olives have been picked. A few people work on the same tree, some on ladders, others working the lower branches. This way of picking has gone on for thousands of years, and has been depicted in medieval manuscripts and Roman marble bas-reliefs.
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After a lunch break, (often a hearty soup, wine, bread and cheese), the picking is resumed till dark. The olives are put into small crates and taken (the sooner the better) to the local frantoio, olive press. But this is a "note" for another time.
--contributed by Patricia Glee Smith (see bio), accomplished artist and very involved archaeology afficionado based in Otricoli, Umbria. Click here to view her artwork.
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