The Gessi Bolognesi and Calanchi dell'Abbadessa park, where 1997 Società Agricola is located, is the largest karst park in Emilia-Romagna. A protected area of 5,000 hectares with caves, dolines, spectacular rocky outcrops, woods and rolling hills.
In these lands, olives were already cultivated in the Middle Ages, generally in small plots around religious congregations or noble villas.
Gypsum, from which the park takes its name, is widely present in the soil and contributes to its fertility. In fact, this mineral is used in agriculture to correct soil pH and improve nutrient absorption.
It is from the composition of the soil, as well as the genetic characteristics of the varieties cultivated, that the unmistakable organoleptic properties of organic extra virgin olive oil derive.
In addition to the written sources, it is the centuries-old plants still present in the park that prove how ancient olive growing is in these areas. And it is thanks to these plants that the Biometeorology Institute of the National Research Centre in Bologna has been able to isolate certain ecotypes.
Today, the ancient cultivars are available to farmers who, by planting them, can save them from the risk of extinction and safeguard a precious biodiversity.