The Garden of Peace

News

A garden of olive trees
from all around the world

Ambassador

The olive tree is synonymous of peace and brotherhood among men. A golden thread that “speaks” of tolerance, generosity, charity and altruism.

Opportunities

The olive tree symbolizes conciliation; a marvellous reconciliation between people in order to know and recognise each other.

Development

From small and medium-sized projects for local development, to meetings and seminars on priority issues for the area.

The olive tree speaks to us

OLIVE TREE MESSENGER OF PEACE

  • The olive tree is indeed a typical plant of the Mediterranean basin. The first traces of wild olive trees were found in Syria. Later it developed in Greece, becoming the sacred plant of Athena. In The Odyssey, Homer says that the wedding bed of Ulysses was made from a trunk of olive tree. Greeks also cultivated it in their colonies, and it will become a fundamental plant for Romans as well.
  • The plant in fact grows and develops in an environment with a typical Mediterranean climate: it tolerates drought and high temperatures as well.
  • The olive tree is mentioned in the three sacred books of monotheistic religions and represents a link between peoples and ideas.
  • The olive tree in various cultures has played a key role in both economic and cultural aspects, landscape, and religion.

NOAH’S DOVE

In Muslim, Jewish and Christian  traditions, the olive tree occupies a place of great importance. In the Old Testament there are over two hundred references to the olive tree and olive oil. One of the most important appearances of the olive tree is illustrated in Genesis (8: 8-12), when Noah, after the universal flood, drifting for 40 days, sent a dove to check the consequences on the earth. On the seventh day, the dove brought Noah a green olive branch as proof that the waters had receded, and that God had finally made peace with humanity.

NOAH’S DOVE

In Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions, the olive tree occupies a place of great importance. In the Old Testament there are over two hundred references to the olive tree and olive oil. One of the most important appearances of the olive tree is illustrated in Genesis (8: 8-12), when Noah, after the universal flood, drifting for 40 days, sent a dove to check the consequences on the earth. On the seventh day, the dove brought Noah a green olive branch as proof that the waters had receded, and that God had finally made peace with humanity.

THE OLIVE TREES IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE

There is many evidence in the New Testament of the role of this plant in the Christian religion. The words Messiah (from Hebrew) and Christ (from Greek) mean “anointed” because in ancient times, only kings were anointed with oil. Moreover, the word Gethsemane, which we normally translate as “garden of olive trees”, actually means “oil press”, and it was in the Garden of Gethsemane that Christ was arrested. In addition, one of the woods that made up the cross of Christ was actually the olive tree.