It’s like a journey back in time… travelling along old roads buried deep in Molise’s green hills with their rarefied air and ancient ambiance; here in this gently undulating countryside where the golden light plays on patches of silver-green olive trees and fields of yellow wheat.

The olive tree plays the leading role on this stage, both in the scenery and in the history of the land. It is here on the farm inherited in 1996 from her father, don Francesco Colonna, that Marina Colonna’s extra virgin olive oil came to life. The origins of the relationship between an ancient Roman family and this farmland on the border between Molise and Puglia dates back to the beginning of the 1800s. The Duchess Cattaneo di Sannicandro married Aspreno Colonna and with the bride came the land as part of her dowry.

The olive tree plays the leading role on this stage, both in the scenery and in the history of the land.

It is here on the farm inherited in 1996 from her father, don Francesco Colonna, that Marina Colonna’s extra virgin olive oil came to life. Masseria Bosco Pontoni is near San Martino in Pensilis, 120 metres above sea level. There are 180 hectares of olive groves, cereals and vegetable crops.

The olive groves cover 55 hectares and there are many different cultivars. More than half of the estate’s groves is certified organic. There are historic, local varieties and other experimental types of olive, altogether over 15 cultivars: Leccino, Frantoio, Peranzana, Gentile di Larino, Coratina,
Ascolana Tenera, FS17, Cima di Melfi, Rosciola, Maiatica, Nocellara del Belice, Itrana, Kalamata, Termite di Bitetto, Leccio del Corno.