With a view to safeguarding and promoting the extra virgin olive oil of the Monti Pisani area, the local producers and municipalities joined forces to create the Olive Oil Route of the Monti Pisani.

The Route crosses the municipalities of Vecchiano, San Giuliano Terme, Calci, Buti and Vicopisano, in an itinerary that combines art and history with food and typical products such as extra virgin olive oil, wine, chestnuts and mushrooms.

The climate and the soil are particularly suited to olive farming, thus lending the Monti Pisani olive oil a quality that makes it one of Tuscany's most prized oils.

A particular variety of golden-green olive called frantoio is grown on the slopes of the Monti Pisani that are exposed to the sea. Here olive trees have been grown on small terraces and harvested ever since the Middle Ages. Today olives are carefully selected and hand picked from the trees to be pressed on site, without waiting for the natural maturation process.

The olives are gathered in orange netting and transported to the oil mill to be pressed mechanically without undergoing any chemical modifications. The oil is at its best uncooked, poured straight onto the typical toast known as bruschetta (also called fettunta or crogiantina).

The Monti Pisani olive oil has been awarded the Protected Designation of Origin (DOP). Its yellow colour has green tones and its light fruity fragrance is matched by an equally fruity taste with a hint of spice.

Markets and festivals dedicated to olive oil are held in the Monti Pisani area in autumn and at the end of the year.