De Carlo

A long tradition of excellent Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Olive trees are a distinctive feature of the Apulian landscape: the twisted trunks emerge from the red earth, and the silvery foliage shines agains the blue sky.
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The De Carlo farm is located in this fascinating landscape, in the famous Conca Barese, in the Bitritto area, just 10 km from Bari.
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Extra Virgin oil production is an important resource for the area, and authentic Mediterranean oil from Puglia is now enjoyed worldwide.

Many notarized acts date as far back as the 16th century that the members of the De Carlo (at that time ‘de Mariano de Carolo’) family were purchasing and bartering lands.

In 1668 Nicola de Mariano de Carolo, for his own interest in the oil business, bought an “angulum terrarum palmorum viginta in circa situm in suburbio eiusdem terre iusta domum sive lamiam… justa trappetum novum diete magnifice univeritatis a tergo, viam publicam", that is to say that little piece of land that separated his house from the new mill.

In recent restoration work all the beauty of the old stone mill has been revealed: the little canals that led that precious golden liquid into the pool; tanks, dug out of stone, which are vital for the perfect conservation of the oil from the olive pressing; the tanks of water used during the working phases.

In the 1700s the De Carlo family began a business relationship with the Carone family, and the two families became markets leaders in olive production in the local area.
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The De Carlo continued their activity as Oil Masters throughout the 1800s.
In 1811 a ‘Patente’ (Licence), was issued under the name of De Carlo Giuseppe – whose activity was that of having a “Casa degli Olii" (literally a “House of Oils") in Bitritto – authorizing him to sell his oil both wholesale and retail.
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In the 1900s De Carlo received important national and international recognitions. Serafina De Carlo and her husband, Doctor Antonio Lisi, have been of fundamental importance in the management of the company, helping De Carlo to be well known for the high quality of the oil.
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Since 1980 the company has been managed by Saverio and Grazia De Carlo, accompanied over recent years by their children Marina and Francesco and their son-in-law Arturo. The new generation have developed a company policy focused on a short supply chain (most of the raw materials come from their own fields), top quality, great flavour and the very highest levels of customer satisfaction.

The De Carlo family still produces prized, excellent extra virgin oil today in its farm.
The Azienda Agricola De Carlo owns 148 acres of olive groves, with approximately 12,000 olive trees.
The olives are harvested by hand straight from the trees and pressed in the olive press owned by the De Carlo family within a maximum of 24 hours of harvesting.

In the firm belief that the development of the company was not incompatible with the long tradition implicit in the De Carlo name, the plant was moved to its current site, where it is periodically updated with technologically advanced equipment whilst still preserving its traditional, artisanal origins.
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From production to bottling, the oil is stored in stainless steel tanks under nitrogen to prevent oxidation and ensure that all the organoleptic properties of the oil are preserved.

The result are excellent extra virgin olive oils, that have been awarded many important prizes all over the world.

Alongside its extra virgin oil production, the De Carlo family produces with passion olives in brine and vegetables preserved in extra-virgin olive oil. The vegetables are processed within 24 hours of harvesting, to offer all the taste and texture of fresh vegetables.