We are an organic farming cooperative at the foot of the Pollino National Park, in Calabria. We farm more than 200 hectares of hills where olives, vines, cereals, fruit and herbs grow together, alongside animals raised outdoors. Here is what our way of working the land means in practice.
All our crops are grown organically and certified under the European regulation. Our extra virgin olive oil carries the EU organic logo and the code of its control body, IT-BIO-006, authorised by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture.
Organic farming means no synthetic chemical fertilisers, weedkillers or synthetic pesticides, and working with methods that respect the soil and its rhythms. Every year the farm is checked by an independent control body.
On top of EU organic certification, our olive oil holds Bio Suisse certification, the label of Swiss organic farming.
Bio Suisse sets its own requirements beyond the EU regulation and checks them with dedicated inspections. It is an extra guarantee for anyone choosing our oil, in Italy and abroad.
On more than 200 hectares of hills we do not grow just one thing. Olive trees, vines, cereals, fruit and herbs such as oregano grow side by side, as they have here for centuries.
Growing many crops is something the land itself taught us: a varied farming landscape holds more life, in its plants and in the animals that live there.
Alongside the crops we raise sheep, goats, cattle, pigs and farmyard animals. Our farming is extensive: the animals live outdoors, free and in natural conditions of welfare.
Our land lies at the foot of the Pollino National Park, the largest national park in Italy, between Calabria and Basilicata.
It is unspoilt hill country, with a mild Mediterranean climate and centuries of farming behind it. The olive groves sit between 130 and 600 metres, on medium-textured soil.
The olives are harvested from October to December, taken to the mill within 24 hours and processed cold, below 27 °C. The grapes for the Horatius wines are picked by hand and made in temperature-controlled steel.
The oregano, picked in June and July, is dried slowly in shaded, ventilated rooms.
As a cooperative we bring together, process and sell the produce of our land under one name, Fattorie del Pellegrino.
Our motto is Genuine Produce of the Land. The aim behind our work is sustainable growth that is local, social and lasting.
Private customers, restaurants and wine shops: call or write to us and we will agree on products, quantities and delivery.