Olea Mundi is a collection of over 1,200 olive trees from 23 olive-growing countries in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and new growing regions. This collection represents 263 varieties from Italy and 128 from other countries. These are the numbers of the Olea Mundi World Olive Collection, located in Lugnano in Teverina, one of the locations included in various itineraries along the Umbria DOP Olive Oil Route, including the EVO & Art Experience Tour of the Amerini Hills.
The collection originates from the olive tree germplasm prospecting and collection coordinated for forty years by Professor Giuseppe Fontanazza, which accompanied the founding of the Isafom branch in Perugia, formerly the Institute for Olive Growing Research (IRO). The original collection included approximately 1,100 accessions, of which approximately 800 were of Italian origin. The Isafom collection was long preserved in pots at the Vivai d’Armerina in Enna, Sicily, until it was transferred to the CNR-IBE in Follonica, near Grosseto. In 2004, the main varieties were used to establish a catalogue field in Sicily, while in 2012, a program was launched to propagate and establish a comparison field in Umbria, specifically in Lugnano. Three smaller fields were subsequently added, two in Umbria and one in Puglia.
The Olea Mundi Collection is the subject of a volume published by 3A-PTA, the Umbrian Agri-food Technology Park, and can be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Region’s in-house company. (qui https://biodiversita.umbria.parco3a.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/QBD-11-ESE-WEB.pdf) .
The second part offers a description of the Lugnano Collection, detailing the presence of genotypes of Umbrian, Italian, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern origin, as well as those from areas experiencing recent olive-growing expansion: Mexico, the United States, South Africa, and South America. The volume concludes with a substantial section featuring descriptive notes on 53 of the most representative varieties.