Lleida: Catalonia's olive oil country

In the Catalonian province of Lleida, in the north-east of Spain, there’s a silent but subtly thriving territory of hard-working farmers and producers whose main objective is to produce the highest quality extra virgin olive oil in the most sustainable manner. The oil has been made here since Roman times, but in the 17th century the Duke of Medinaceli introduced a type of olive tree from Palestine. It was later named Arbequina, after the local village of Arbeca, and because of its high yield is now the most cultivated olive tree around the world. It’s also protected and promoted by the Controlled Designation of Origin of Les Garrigues, which was the first olive oil to get recognition in Spain back in 1975 and later certified as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) by the EU in 1996.

Despite its relatively small size, innovation in olive oil production and its premium wine-making counterparts make this a very special and rarely-trodden foodie destination. Welcome to a land where tradition and innovation in food dance side by side and where local chefs play the perfect combination of classic and creative cuisine.

Olive oil is so much more than a healthy salad dressing or your most beloved cooking companion. In Catalonia’s olive oil country, it’s a lifestyle; a way of relating to the landscape and its fragile nature, the connection to our most Mediterranean identity. During harvest season, from mid-October to mid-January, life at the villages runs around the olives’ clock. Olive trees are carefully watched all year round, heads up looking at the sky hoping for the rain to come at the perfect time.

Much has evolved since the blooming olive oil industry of the 18th and 19th centuries in Lleida, especially in the southern regions. Some small villages had up to five mills, illustrating the importance of oil to the local economy. Continued bad harvests, the 1929 economic crash – which stopped the export trade – and the Spanish Civil War marked the end of olive oil’s golden age. But in recent years, some municipalities have been recovering their most valued heritage. Farmers and local associations are doing a priceless job of restoring the dry-stone architecture that spreads across olive groves and vineyards. From perfectly-shaped terraces to singular vaulted cabins and walled cave shelters to cisterns, this heritage is a genuine testimony of human settlement and cultivation practices.