Fontana del Grillo - Azienda agricola di Maio Gabriele

AZIENDA AGRICOLA FONTANA DEL GRILLO...

...for 4 generations it has been cultivating its olive groves with experience and passion in the heart of Locride, a land of ancient olive-growing tradition.

Lâ The Fontana del Grillo agricultural company is located in Calabria in the heart of Locride in the municipalities of Antonimina and CiminÃ, an area of ​​excellence for production of extra virgin olive oil, part of the ""City of Oil"" project.

Antonimina is a small town located 327 meters above sea level. which today has around 1200 inhabitants. The origin of the urban complex dates back to 1400 when some shepherds, attracted by the lush pastures, settled in the place called ""terrata"", which is still the center of the historic nucleus today. It was a possession of the nearby Gerace, which in the area was the most important city in the period of Antonimina's birth.

 It was linked to it for a long time, so much so that in 1609 when the King of Spain Philip III â €“ master of the Kingdom of Sicily and Naples - he donated the city of Gerace to the Grimaldi family of Genoa with the title of Princes who it will hold from generation to generation until 1738 (last heir) then passed to the Serra family until the advent of the Republic. Antonimina followed its fate and became ""the Mill"" of the estates, thanks to the characteristics of its territories dedicated to the cultivation of cereals. In fact, even today in the Antonimina valley and nearby Ciminà (also a possession of Gerace) a particular wheat cultivar called ""Maiorca"" is cultivated, suitable for bread-making and the creation of fresh pasta. .

The Antonimina valley rises between two mountain ridges with heights no higher than 900 metres: on the right Monte TrePizzi with its summit of approximately 700 meters above sea level. (falling within the Municipality of CiminÃ) where most of the company land lies below. The name is given by its particular conformation of Three Rock Points.

This mountain was most likely an extinct volcano, so much so that it is thought that the thermal waters called ""Locrian holy waters"" which flowed in the locality Bagni di Antonimina come directly from this mountain.

The thermal water flows spontaneously at a temperature of 36 degrees centigrade, chlorinated-sulphate-alkaline waters with traces of iodine, isotonic and slightly hypotonic, indicated for the treatment of respiratory pathologies, for the treatment of dermatitis and in particular useful for the treatment of female infertility.

< p>To the left of the Antonimina valley we find the splendid medieval village of Gerace, the city of 100 churches, one of the most fascinating and best preserved in Calabria.

On the coast are the remains of ancient Locri-Epizefyri, one of the most important Magna Graecia colonies, which for centuries dominated the surrounding territories, making them the cradle of ancient civilization. Two paths started from the Polis which from the Ionian reached the cities of the Tyrrhenian side, namely Medma and Tauros (today Rosarno and Gioia Tauro and the other Hipponion (Vibo Valentia), strategic outlets above all for the control of the nearby territories but also and above all for the businesses. One of these paths runs alongside the company grounds, although unfortunately today it no longer has the splendor of its time. In recent years some young people antoniminesi established an association “Boschetto Fioritoâ€through which they try to bring this, like many other important points of interest in the village back to the fore through exciting trekking experiences. ;

Behind the shoulders rises the Zomaro plateau, mountain of the seven peoples, crossroads of men who crossed the pass until since ancient times.

The village is perched on a rocky ridge, which from the Aspromontana ridgecuts the last edge of the boot in two from north to south and then go down towards the sea. The inhabited center is surrounded by two rivers (Colla and Principessa) which join at the foot of the town and create a single riverbed which after a 10 km journey flows into the Ionian sea.

Some company land falls within in the protection area of ​​the Aspromonte Park, others fall into the Sic protection area (sites of community importance), an area protected by the European Commission, the Ministry of the Environment and by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

The Aspromonte National Park established by law in 1989 has 37 municipalities belonging to both the Ionian and Tyrrhenian areas; among these also Antonimina and CiminÃ.

The Park, since April 2021, has been declared a UNESCO Geopark for the protection of the particular geological heritage of the central Mediterranean; the Aspromonte massif (from the Greek ""aspros"" which means shiny white) in fact appears different in terms of geological characteristics compared to the remaining part of the Apennines.

It is in this geographical context that the ™Azienda Agricola Fontana del Grillo extends over 30 hectares, ten of which are cultivated exclusively with olive trees, many of which are centuries-old, which color and perfume the landscape. 

The company has an ancient history, and brings together the workers of the Maio and Fazzari families, landowners of Antonimina who, among other things, founded at the end of the 1800s, in the same Municipality two oil mills (“U Trappitu i Maiuâ€, from the name of the founder Vincenzo Maio) and “U trappitedu†always carried forward by Luigi, Pietro and Luigi Fazzari†thus starting an important olive oil production activity. Today the ""Trappitedu"" oil mill has been handed over to the ENOSIS cultural association Antonimina festival committee and will become home to an important oil museum.

In 2021, by will of Mr. Gabriele Maio, thanks to the help of his brothers Gianluca and Francesco and his wife Sara Fazzari, the company was reborn under the name of ""Fontana del Grillo"", recovering and relaunching the renowned oil production, reconnecting with ancient cultivation techniques, safeguarding the historical plants and intensifying production among the native cultivars, La Grossa di Gerace or Geracese, the Ottobratica, the Sinipolese, and also inserting a new cultivar, the Nocellara. 

 All made possible also thanks to continuous work during the 2000s by Gabriele Maio's brothers, Gianluca and Francesco, who took care of maintaining and taking care of the land and crops by planting new olive trees in some of the land.

Right from the start the company has adopted an organic regime refusing the use of products such as pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and chemical herbicides in the soil, and for more than thirty years it has been producing extra virgin olive oil olive through new cold extraction techniques, using continuous cycle production plants.

This has been since Gabriele's grandfather, returning from a trip to the Marche where he had the opportunity to visit the Pieralisi company, a world leader in the production of systems for the extraction of olive oil, understood that it was no longer convenient to produce with the old methods since stone milling was no longer adequate to the new standards qualitative. In fact, the olive paste was spread on fabric circles, alternating with steel discs, which were passed through screw presses. The emulsion that emerged was poured into hot water and with this method and the difference in temperature and consistency the separation of the oil took place.

Modern machinery, however, allows the entry of olives in the machine and through a continuous and closed cycle allow the oil to escape without the pasta coming into contact with external agents. Today the techniques have increasingly evolved, and from the moment of harvesting the olives are taken to the mill for milling within 24 hours. The finished product is immediately placed in steel tanks for conservation.

The company currently plans to install a new company milling plant that will always meet the standards and specifications modern qualitative needs.

 

Cultivar...

The Geracese is the master of our territory, it has a yield of 20% about oil, but it can also be used as a table olive, given its sweetness. It is a rustic plant that resists drought and salty winds very well, so much so that it is cultivated up to a few meters from the sea. It is harvested between October and November. The oil has a yellow color with an intense and fruity flavour, with hints of wild grass, a simple aroma, very suitable for delicate dishes.

Ottobratica has an intense green colored oil, strong taste, rich in polyphenols, hints of freshly mown grass, yield of approximately 16%. Maturation October-November.

La Sinopolese yellow oil, delicate taste and aroma, very fine consistency. Ripening November-December.

The Nocellara has similar characteristics to the Geracese, with a lower yield in terms of oil, and is particularly used as a table olive.