3 July 2026
The olive tree, living memory of the land
From terraced hillsides to rural paths, olive landscapes tell a long story of collaboration between people and nature, shaping territories and cultural identities.
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Gardens of Peace: borderless territories across five continents
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Gardens awaiting inauguration
Nicosia - Cyprus
Cornwall - Great Britain
The Olive Tree
A thousand-year-old tree that adapts to different lands and accompanies communities
The olive tree does not follow political borders.
It grows across different lands, adapts to their landscapes, and journeys through time alongside the communities that welcome it.
Exploring where it grows means looking at the world from the perspective of a migrant tree.
Discover where the olive tree grows today, from the Mediterranean to the Americas, from Africa to Oceania
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Hot, dry valleys and plateaus of Inner Asia — olive cultivation development and climate adaptation in Central Asia.
E3S Web of Conferences – Research of olive sprouts and fruits grown in Uzbekistan -
Slopes and valleys of the Himalayan system — presence of Olea ferruginea up to 2,400 m above sea level.
Fruits – Olea ferruginea Royle, Indian olive: an underutilised fruit tree crop of north-west Himalaya -
Longnan region (northwestern China, Gansu) — more than 40,000 hectares of olive groves.
Our China Story – Olive oil in Gansu -
Rajasthan desert region — pilot project in the desert.
The Guardian – Greening India’s deserts with olives -
Potohar Plateau and arid regions — a new frontier for olive cultivation in Asia.
Pakistan Business Council – Potential of olives -
Aegean, Marmara and Mediterranean coasts of Turkey — a major olive-growing territory spanning different coastal regions, where elevation and the risk of cold and frost define cultivation limits and varietal distribution.
Agronomy (MDPI) – An Overview of Olive Cultivation in Turkey: Botanical Features, Eco-Physiology and Phytochemistry -
Crimean Peninsula (Black Sea basin) — olive cultivation in coastal microclimates close to the northern climatic limit, with the selection of more cold-resistant cultivars.
Genes (MDPI) – Genetic Diversity of Common Olive (Olea europaea L.) Cultivars from Nikita Botanical Gardens Collection -
Shōdoshima Island (Japan) — the first eastern olive-growing territory, dating back to 1908.
Japan Guide – Olive Park · JCB Japan Tips · LLA NBS -
Desert regions and arid valleys of the Gulf countries — emerging olive cultivation in hyper-arid environments (e.g. Al Jouf, with around 5 million trees).
AGSI – Trees of the Gulf · IOC – Olive growing in Saudi Arabia
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Coastal terraces and slopes of the Serra de Tramuntana (Mallorca) — a terraced agricultural landscape with historic olive groves, recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
UNESCO – Cultural Landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana · Spain.info – Serra de Tramuntana -
The Umbrian slopes between Assisi and Spoleto — terraced olive groves and an agricultural landscape recognised as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
FAO – Olive Groves of the Slopes between Assisi and Spoleto -
Plains and plateaus of Apulia — a key olive-growing territory, with extensive groves, centuries-old trees and a strong varietal identity (e.g. Coratina).
Regione Puglia – Olio di Puglia PGI (information and documents) -
Hills and valleys of Tuscany — a mosaic of production areas where terrain, microclimates, harvesting choices and milling methods result in distinctive sensory profiles.
Olio Toscano PGI – Production and areas (Consortium) -
Coastal terraces and slopes of Liguria (Riviera Ligure) — hillside olive cultivation and dry-stone walls, where manual labour and coastal microclimates play a decisive role.
Riviera Ligure PDO Consortium – The Territory -
Western Sicily (Val di Mazara) — a major Mediterranean olive-growing territory, with extensive cultivated areas and local varieties such as Biancolilla, Nocellara del Belice and Cerasuola.
Val di Mazara PDO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil -
Olive grove landscapes of Andalusia (Mar de Olivos) — a “sea of olive trees” proposed for the UNESCO World Heritage List for its historic agricultural landscapes.
UNESCO – The Olive Grove Landscapes of Andalusia · Olive Oil Times – Sea of Olives -
Aegean islands and coasts (Greece) — a mosaic of small plots and olive groves on slopes and traditional terraces.
Olive Groves and Landscapes in Greece · Landscape Change in Olive Plantations on Lesvos Island -
The Istrian Peninsula (Croatia and Slovenia) — terraced olive groves along the northern Adriatic and award-winning olive oils.
Why Istrian olive oil is so special · Olive production on cultivated terraces in northern Istria -
The Alentejo region (Portugal) — vast olive-growing landscapes across rolling plains, vineyards and cork oak woodlands.
Visit Alentejo – Amazing olives and world-class olive oil -
Provence, the Alpilles, Pays d’Aix and Haute-Provence (south-eastern France) —
the main heartland of French olive growing, with groves on limestone hills, plateaus and traditional terraces known as
restanques. It includes historic territories such as the Vallée des Baux-de-Provence, Pays d’Aix,
the Luberon, Var and Haute-Provence, associated with varieties including Aglandau, Salonenque, Grossane and Bouteillan.
France Olive – Olive oils and olive-growing regions of France -
Terraces of the French Riviera and the hinterland of Nice (France) —
olive groves on the slopes of the Maritime Alps, often laid out on narrow stone terraces between the Mediterranean coast
and the pre-Alpine valleys. The area is particularly associated with the Cailletier variety, also known as
Olive de Nice.
AOP Olive de Nice – Territory and production -
Plains, hills and garrigue of Mediterranean Languedoc (southern France) —
an extensive olive-growing area stretching from Gard and Hérault to Aude and the Pyrénées-Orientales. It includes olive groves
around Nîmes, Montpellier, Béziers, Minervois and Corbières, with distinctive local varieties such as Picholine,
Lucques, Olivière and Verdale de l’Hérault.
France Olive – French olive-growing regions -
Drôme Provençale, Nyons and the Baronnies (south-eastern France) —
an area located at the historic northern limit of Mediterranean olive cultivation, between southern Drôme
and northern Vaucluse. Sheltered, sunny slopes allow the cultivation of Tanche,
a cold-resistant variety and a symbol of the Nyons area.
Nyons – Olives and olive oil of the region -
Valleys, inland hills and coastal plains of Corsica (France) —
island olive cultivation extending from Balagne and Nebbio to the eastern plain, Taravo,
Sartenais and the far south of the island. Traditional olive groves, often centuries old and cultivated at low intensity,
preserve local varieties such as Sabina, Ghjermana, Zinzala and Curtinese.
Oliu di Corsica AOP – Olive growing in Corsica
Cornwall — olive groves in a temperate oceanic climate, at the north-western edge of the traditional growing range.
BBC News – Olive trees in Cornwall · Olive Oil Times – Olive trees take root in England · Cornish Olive Growers
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Arid valleys of north-western Argentina (Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan, Mendoza) — olive groves in Andean foothill valleys between 23° and 32° S.
Olive growing in the arid valleys of Northwest Argentina -
Coastal oases of southern Peru (Tacna, Arequipa, Moquegua) — historic olive groves dating back to the 16th century in irrigated desert climates.
Juan Vilar – Olive groves in Peru -
Transverse valleys of northern Chile (Copiapó, Huasco, Limarí) — olive cultivation in arid valleys between the Andes and the Pacific.
Agricultural ecosystems with olive trees in the Limarí River basin · Frontiers – Olive cultivation in the Southern Hemisphere -
California (inland valleys and Central Coast) — a centre of olive research and innovation in North America.
UC Davis – Olive Center · Olive Oil Times – Olive Production Manual for California -
Central and southern Texas and the coastal region — emerging plantations at the edge of the olive-growing range, with significant potential but also a risk of winter frosts.
Texas A&M – Texas Fruit and Nut Production: Olives -
North-western Mexico (Baja California, Valle de Guadalupe) — olive groves and vineyards between the Sonoran Desert and maritime influences.
Valle de Guadalupe – Olive grove -
Southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) — new extra virgin olive oils gaining recognition and geographical indications.
Invest RS – Olive oils and wines from Rio Grande do Sul -
Uruguay (Maldonado, Colonia and other districts) — small-scale production with a high proportion of award-winning quality extra virgin olive oils.
Olive Oil Ranking – Extra virgin olive oils from Uruguay
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Rif hills and the Taounate area (Morocco) — hilly olive-growing landscapes and Amazigh villages, with traditional knowledge and practices such as the toasted olive oil known as “alwana”.
ScienceDirect – Alwana, Amazigh olive oil from the Pre-Rif -
Haouz Plain and Atlas foothills (central Morocco) — large irrigated areas where the olive tree is a key crop in rural development projects.
Olive Value Chain Analysis in Haouz Area -
Cap Bon Peninsula (north-eastern Tunisia) — coastal olive groves and an ancient olive tree near Al-Haouaria, believed to be several thousand years old and symbolising the continuity of olive cultivation in North Africa.
Further information – Cap Bon Peninsula -
Sfax Plain and the Tunisian Sahel — one of the Mediterranean’s largest olive-growing areas, with millions of trees, olive-oil tourism and specialised cooperatives.
Olive Oil Times – Sfax and olive oil culture in Tunisia -
Mountain slopes of Kabylia (Algeria) — terraced olive groves on steep slopes, local varieties such as Chemlal de Kabylie, and a strong connection between the olive tree and Amazigh identity.
Further information – Kabylia region -
Siwa Oasis (Egypt’s Western Desert) — a system of gardens irrigated by springs and wells, where date palms and olive trees coexist in an ancient oasis landscape.
Siwa Oasis – landscapes of date palms and olive trees -
Olive-growing valleys of the Western Cape and Swartland (South Africa) — a Mediterranean climate in the Southern Hemisphere, expanding olive groves and award-winning extra virgin olive oils (Riebeek Valley, Swartland Olive Route).
Table Olives of South Africa – Mediterranean Western Cape -
Afromontane juniper–olive forests of the Ethiopian Highlands — a mosaic of forests and grasslands where the wild olive (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata) coexists with Juniperus procera, with significant importance for reforestation and sustainable management projects.
Wild olive – Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata
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Mediterranean belt of the Murray Valley (Victoria and New South Wales, Australia) — Oceania’s main production area, with large irrigated olive groves between 31° and 38° S.
Hort Innovation – Olive Strategic Investment Plan (Murray Valley) · NSW DPI – Olive industry overview -
Mediterranean regions of Western Australia (Gingin, Chittering, Swan, South-West, South Coast) — olive groves between 29.5° and 34.5° S, influenced by the Indian Ocean and producing high-quality extra virgin olive oils.
DPIRD – Growing olives in Western Australia · Olives WA – Main growing regions -
Coastal hills of South Australia (Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale & Fleurieu Coast) — vineyards and olive groves in a cool Mediterranean climate, with dedicated olive-oil tourism routes.
Olive Trails – McLaren Vale & Fleurieu Coast · The Olive Groves – Parngutilla (Adelaide) -
Tasmania (North-West, Derwent and southern coasts) — olive cultivation in a cool oceanic climate, with slow ripening and complex oils produced at some of the southernmost latitudes where olives are cultivated.
NRE Tasmania – Olive growing factsheet · Tasmanian Olive Grove – Cool climate olive oil -
New Zealand (Wairarapa, Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough, Auckland, Nelson) — small and medium-sized olive groves in a temperate oceanic climate, producing distinctive single-varietal oils and protected-origin products.
Olives New Zealand – Industry overview · Olives New Zealand – Wairarapa growers
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From the Blog
Stories, insights and reflections on the value of the olive tree, peace and sustainability.
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