Meet Our Family

Our story with olive oil began over five generations ago on my mother’s side, in the red soils of San Vito dei Normanni, Puglia - a region known for its ancient olive groves and responsible for half of Italy’s annual olive oil production.

My great-grandparents were farmers here, tending the same land we now cultivate. One of our relatives even owned a frantoio (olive mill), although legend has it he lost the estate due to his gambling addiction.

Over time, the family moved away from farming. My grandparents and parents became civil servants. My mother moved to study in the larger town of Brindisi, where she met my father - a driven and principled man, who would go on to lead the Province of Brindisi and become a big personality and real institution. My mother taught PE at the local high school, where she combined a deep love of sport with her belief in healthy eating and spiritual enlightenment.

The farm and its original lamia building remained in the family, though it held bittersweet memories for my mother, who, as a teenager, experienced the loss of her own mother in a tragic and unfortunate hunting accident.

For me, it became our summer sanctuary. We’d spend three months each year at the villa - barefoot in the grove, naming the ancient olive trees by their shapes, swimming in the Adriatic, and picking almonds, apricots, nectarines, peaches and figs with my siblings and cousins.

Olive oil was everywhere, in every dish - but back then, I took it for granted. It was simply life.

In 2006, my wife and I decided to take over the family land. Though we lived in London, we wanted our children to grow up connected to nature, to family, and to the rhythms of the seasons - just as I had.

Today, we care for the same 10-acre estate, home to 230 olive trees, nearly half of which date back to the 16th century. Since 2018, we’ve farmed it organically. In recent years, we’ve embraced regenerative practices to rebuild soil health, increase biodiversity, and strengthen the trees - so that our children, and perhaps theirs, can continue the story.

A Tree That Feels Like Family

For us, the olive tree is more than a crop - it’s a living presence, a witness to our family’s history and a symbol of resilience. This poem, written by Brindisi-born lawyer, mayor and poet Ennio Masiello (1929–2018) for my father Marcello Mele, captures that connection more beautifully than I ever could.