There is a long history of olive cultivation and olive oil production in southern Switzerland. Ticino is the main production region, with the Grisons being the only other production area in the country. However, olive production is economically marginal, as Switzerland lies at the northern limit of the cultivation area. [1]
It is not known when the olive tree was introduced in Switzerland. Retired legionaries from Julius Caesar's campaign in Gaul are said to have planted olive trees on the shores of Lake Como, which lies a few kilometres east of the current Swiss border. It is possible that they moved further towards Lake Lugano. It is also possible that the olive tree was domesticated in Ticino starting from indigenous wild-olive trees. [1]
Olive oil production on Swiss territory is attested by the monk Ekkehard IV from St. Gallen around the year 1000. He notably wrote: "Hunc olee fructum faciat lux, pax benedictum" ("This fruit of the olive tree gives light and blesses peace"). This sentence testifies to the main use of olive oil, as fuel for oil lamps. The olive tree was important enough to be mentioned in numerous documents, mostly sales registers, which confirm its presence over the centuries. In the cantonal archive of Ticino there is among other things a document from 1488 according to which two brothers from Bissone sold a property with "Holivetum" at Rovio. Another document from 1512 records the farm "of arable land and vineyard with olive trees located in the territory of Bissone". [1] Historical olive production is also suggested by local toponomy, with denominations such as Monte Oliveto ("mount of olives") found in various locations. [2]
In 1494, 1600 and 1709, frost destroyed almost all the olive groves, [1] perhaps a consequence of the Little Ice Age, which affected Switzerland and Europe at that time. [3] Subsequently, the olive tree lost its importance and was partly replaced by the mulberry tree in the Lugano and Mendrisiotto regions. The breeding of silkworms became a more important source of income in Ticino. [4] Nevertheless, olive cultivation, along with mulberry, lemon and orange, is reported and described by travellers from northern Switzerland in the late 18th and early 19th century. It can therefore be deduced that the southern slopes of Monte Brè, San Salvatore, Arbostora and various other locations, were still populated by vast olive groves at that time. [2] In the 20th century, olive cultivation nearly disappeared. Olive oil was only produced in Gandria, in minute quantities. [1]
Towards the end of the 20th century, local cuisine and products began to attract growing interest throughout Switzerland. At the end of the 1980s, olive cultivation was revived at the Colle degli Ulivi in Coldrerio. Other olive groves were created in Sonvico and Sementina. In Gandria, the olive footpath was established. [1]
In 2016, a farm in Brusio (Grisons) began to cultivate olive trees on restored terraces that probably date back to the 16th century. [1] In 2019, a small olive farm was established in Satigny (Geneva), probably the first in the country on the north side of the Alps. [5] In 2024, a winemaker established another farm in Ayent (Valais). [6]
Southern Switzerland constitutes the northern limit (or historical limit in the context of global warming) of the cultivation zone where the climatic conditions are favourable to the growth of the olive, a plant sensitive to cold. The Flora Helvetica , the reference work for identifying flowering plants in Switzerland, describes the olive habitat: "Rocky slopes, bushes, cultivated and rarely wild in southern Ticino". The highest olive grove is found above Faido, at 907 metres above sea level. The most common cultivars are Leccino, Frantoio and Pendolino. In Sonvico, Melide, Lopagno and Verdabbio (Grisons), olive orchards with cultivars from Ticino have been established by ProSpecieRara. [1] [7]
Olive oil production in Switzerland is very small. In 2020, 18,271 kilograms of olives were processed in the mills of Losone and Sonvico and 1,990 litres of olive oil were produced. This constitutes the bulk of the production in the country. [8] Nonetheless, Ticino olive oil was inscribed in the Culinary Heritage of Switzerland in 2021. [9]
Olive oil is popular in Switzerland and it is essentially imported from more southerly countries. [10] Olive oil is used in a few traditional dishes of southern Switzerland, notably Ticinese risotto. [11] It is also used as a condiment and accompanies regional products, such as fresh cheeses. [12] [13]
Ticino, sometimes Tessin, officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts and its capital city is Bellinzona. It is also traditionally divided into the Sopraceneri and the Sottoceneri, respectively north and south of Monte Ceneri. Red and blue are the colours of its flag.
Lugano is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population of 62,315, and an urban agglomeration of over 150,000. It is the ninth largest Swiss city.
Gandria is both a quarter of the city of Lugano in the Swiss canton of Ticino, and a village on the northern shore of Lake Lugano, which forms the core of that quarter. Until 2004, the quarter of Gandria was an independent municipality, joining with Lugano in that year.
There are 106 municipalities in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland,. Municipalities (comuni) are grouped in circles (circoli) which are part of districts (distretti).
Risotto is an Italian rice dish cooked with broth until it reaches a creamy consistency. The broth can be derived from meat, fish, or vegetables. Many types of risotto contain butter, onion, white wine, and Parmesan cheese. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy. Saffron was originally used for flavour and its signature yellow colour.
Swiss cuisine is an ensemble of national, regional and local dishes, consisting of the ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques developed in Switzerland or assimilated from other cultures, particularly neighboring countries. The diversity and comprehensiveness of Swiss gastronomy reflects the linguistic, cultural and geographical diversity. The climate of Switzerland allows for a large variety of terroirs, and therefore a wide range of indigenous food, from simple cereals to refined products like cheese and wine.
The Ticinese dialect is the set of dialects, belonging to the Alpine and Western branch of the Lombard language, spoken in the northern part of the Canton of Ticino (Sopraceneri); the dialects of the region can generally vary from valley to valley, often even between single localities, while retaining the mutual intelligibility that is typical of the Lombard linguistic continuum.
François-Louis Cailler was a Swiss entrepreneur and early chocolatier who founded Cailler, the first modern brand of Swiss chocolate and the oldest still in existence, in 1819.
Bissone is a municipality in the district of Lugano, in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
Ticino has a long tradition of winemaking, being the southernmost region of Switzerland. Wine has been produced there since the Roman era. The region is known for its Merlot, which was introduced in the early 20th century.
Sonvico is a quarter of the city of Lugano and former municipality of the Lugano district in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 14 April 2013 the municipality of Sonvico merged into the municipality of Lugano becoming a new neighborhood. The medieval part of Sonvico village consist is an old citadel with a compacted structure full of narrow and intricate lanes.
Swiss wine is produced from nearly 15,000 hectares of vineyards, and the wines are mainly produced in the west and in the south of Switzerland, in the cantons of Geneva, Neuchâtel, Ticino, Valais and Vaud. White grape varieties are grown on 43% of the country's vineyard area, and red grape varieties on 57%.
The Italian language in the Italian Switzerland or Swiss Italian is the variety of the Italian language taught in the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland. While this variety is mainly spoken in the canton of Ticino and in the southern part of Grisons, Italian is spoken natively in the whole country by about 700,000 people: Swiss Italians, Italian immigrants and Swiss citizens with Italian citizenship.
The pane ticinese is a white bread traditionally made in the Swiss canton of Ticino, but also available in the rest of Switzerland, where it is known as "Bread of Ticino". In Ticino, it is referred to by a number of names specific to the region, including pane riga, reale or lireta.
Lombard cuisine is the style of cooking in the Northern Italian region of Lombardy. The historical events of its provinces and of the diversity of its territories resulted in a varied culinary tradition. First courses in Lombard cuisine range from risottos to soups and stuffed pasta, and a large choice of second course meat or fish dishes, due to the many lakes and rivers of Lombardy.
The Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano or Lake Lugano Navigation Company (SNL) is a Swiss company operating passenger services on Lake Lugano. The company also operates bus routes in the same area, and is based at Cassarate in the city of Lugano. It was formerly known as the Società di Navigazione e Ferrovie per lago di Lugano and at one time also operated railways in the area.
The Capra Grigia, French: Chèvre grise des montagnes, German: Graue Bergziege, is a rare and endangered indigenous breed of domestic goat from Switzerland. It originates in the valleys of the cantons of the Grisons or Graubünden in the eastern part of the country, and of Ticino or Tessin in the south. It is possibly related to the grey type of the Passeirer Gebirgsziege from the Autonomous Province of Bolzano in north-eastern Italy.
Sausages and cured meats are widely consumed in Switzerland. Meat in general is consumed on a daily basis, pork being particularly ubiquitous in Swiss cuisine. Preserving meat by smoking it or by adding salt has been done for millennia in Switzerland.
There is a long history of chestnut cultivation and consumption in Switzerland, particularly in the southern regions. During the 20th century, chestnut has evolved from a staple food to a popular confectionery ingredient.
Salame ticinese is a variety of salami originating in Ticino, the southernmost region of Switzerland. It is characterized by coarsely ground meat and it is often made into small sausages, called salametti. It is an emblematic air-dried cured pork meat of Ticino, along with prosciutto crudo and coppa. These are referred to as salumi.
Si trovano infatti delle denominazioni locali quali: Monte Oliveto presso Rancate e Monte Oliveto presso Ponte-Tresa che accennano assai probabilmente alla esistenza in queste località di antichi oliveti; l'assenza di cappelle sembra escludere che tali denominazioni siano delle dediche religiose. [...] J. C. Fäsi (1) scriveva nel 1766 che nel Luganese « accanto agli altri alberi fruttiferi l'olivo vien pure fortemente coltivato (stark gebaut); aranci e limoni non son rari ». [...] E. J. C. Füesslin (2) nel 1772: « L'intero paese ha una sovrabbondonza di buona frutta, di olivi, di gelsi: vi sono pure limoni ed aranci ». « Gli olivi crescono lungo il lago assai bene. » [...] Ghiringhelli (4) scriveva nel 1812 che « nelle sponde lacuali dell'Arbostora vi sono alcune foreste di olivi ». [...] Si può adunque desumere dalle notizie suesposte che le falde meridionali del Monte Brè, del S. Salvatore e dell'Arbostora e le campagne di Bissone e Campione erano popolate da vasti oliveti, dei quali gli alberi tuttora esistenti non sono che gli ultimi superstiti.[In fact, there are local denominations such as: Monte Oliveto near Rancate and Monte Oliveto near Ponte-Tresa which most likely refer to the existence of ancient olive groves in these localities; the absence of chapels seems to exclude that these denominations are religious dedications. [...] J. C. Fäsi (1) wrote in 1766 that in the Lugano area « alongside the other fruit trees, the olive tree is also heavily cultivated (stark gebaut); oranges and lemons are not rare. » [...] E. J. C. Füesslin (2) in 1772: « The whole country has an abundance of good fruit, olive trees, mulberry trees: there are also lemon and orange trees ». « The olive trees grow along the lake very well. » [...] Ghiringhelli (4) wrote in 1812 that « on the lake shores of the Arbostora there are some forests of olive trees ». [...] It can therefore be deduced from the above information that the southern slopes of Monte Brè, S. Salvatore and Arbostora and the countryside of Bissone and Campione were populated by vast olive groves, of which the trees still existing are only the last survivors.]
Dans les phases de progression des glaciers, plus particulièrement entre 1570 et 1630, les mauvaises récoltes dues au climat causèrent de fréquentes chertés.[In the phases of progression of the glaciers, more particularly between 1570 and 1630, the bad harvests due to the climate caused frequent high prices.]
Mais, pour des raisons climatiques, l'élevage des vers à soie y fut toujours marginal, sauf au Tessin où il fut important pour l'économie rurale entre le XVIIe et le XIXe siècle.[But, for climatic reasons, the breeding of silkworms was always marginal there, except in Ticino where it was important for the rural economy between the 17th and 19th centuries.]
Sur la base de témoignages anciens et de documents écrits, Pro Specie Rara a déterminé les régions du Tessin qui accueillaient historiquement les oliveraies. Des boutures ont été prélevées sur les arbres subsistants, confiées ensuite à des pépiniéristes qui en ont tiré des plants, eux-mêmes transmis à des cultivateurs pour la culture et la conservation.[Based on ancient testimonies and written documents, Pro Specie Rara has determined the regions of Ticino that historically hosted olive groves. Cuttings were taken from the remaining trees, then entrusted to nurseries who took seedlings, themselves transmitted to farmers for cultivation and conservation.]
In families it is even cooked more than once a week, with a ritual that changes from home to home, because, it goes without saying, every family has its own recipe for making the perfect risotto. Here's ours: 100% Ticinese because it only uses typical products from our region, including the rice.
...un piatto di formaggini di capra conditi con olio d'oliva e aceto balsamico, e serviti con un po' di pane della Valle Maggia.[...a plate of goat cheese dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and served with some bread from the Maggia Valley.]
La robiola si gusta fresche, senza condimento oppure con olio d'oliva, sale e pepe.[Robiola is eaten fresh, without seasoning or with olive oil, salt and pepper.]
Media related to Olea europaea in Switzerland at Wikimedia Commons
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