The town of Ostuni rises above the “Piana degli Ulivi” (the plain of the olive trees), an endless expanse of olive groves that stretches all the way to the sea, and is currently in the containment zone of the Xylella fastidiosa outbreak. (2017)
An olive grower proudly shows his olives in the countryside of Andria. (2016)
Pruning olive trees in the countryside of Fasano. Techniques such as pruning are extremely important to the trees' health, making up much of the cost of olive oil production, and have declined as farmers have been forced to cut costs because of this commodity's chronically low prices. (2017)
Tasting the first olive oil of the year at the “Frantolio D'Amico” olive mill in Casalini. (2017)
Harvesting the family olives in the Valle d'Itria. (2017)
Harvesting olives from a centuries-old tree in the countryside of Monopoli. (2017)
Stefano after a day of harvesting olives in Acquaviva delle Fonti. (2017)
Harvesting olives in the countryside of Fasano. (2017)
Because even harvesting one tree requires the cooperation of more than person, and because olive trees are often cultivated in large numbers, the basic unit of olive cultivation is a "squadra". Here is the one harvesting olives from the ground in the countryside of Monopoli. (2017)
In the village of Locorotondo, Sara and her grandmother prepare for the traditional ritual to ward off the “malocchio” (the evil eye), which consists of pouring drops of olive oil on water and watching how they behave. Such rituals are very common throughout South Italy, and often have olive oil as their central element. (2017)
Jesus holds an olive branch in a religious icon which can be found in many houses of Puglia. The significance of olive trees goes well beyond the production of olive oil, something that probably played a role in the refusal of much of the region's population to accept the reality of the outbreak and instead seek refuge in denial and conspiracy theories. (2017)
An olive tree in Salento. Thousands of trees began showing leaf scorch and various other symptoms in the first years of the past decade, and then these symptos exploded through Salento, with millions of trees affected. (2018)
The Xylella fastidiosa bacteria can be seen in the section of a plant's xylem vessel, to the left of this picture by the University of Bari's microscopist Angelo de Stradis. (2017)
A graffiti along one of Salento's main roads denounces the entire Xylella affair as “mafia”. This view of the outbreak as a conspiracy or an outright lie to force a wide-ranging transformation of the region's agriculture, landscape and identity is very common in Puglia, and has led to much oppositions to the authorities' efforts to contain it. (2017)
Blocking a motorway to protest the eradication of olive trees in Torchiarolo, as part of the authorities' plans to contain the Xylella fastidiosa outbreak. Fuelled by online conspiracies and a general distrust of the government, grassroots movements have mobilized wherever the authorities have tried to implement their containment plans, pointing to a failure to take into account the population's views and its attachment to olive trees. (2015)
Dead olive trees in the countryside of Ugento, in Salento. Entire swathes of the region now look like an eerie cemetery of desiccated trees, some of which had stood for centuries if not thousands of years. (2017)
Daniele Casto harvesting olives from the ground in Salento. This practice, which produces low-quality oil and often involves the use of herbicides, has impoverished the soil and therefore weakened the olive trees, literally preparing the ground for the spread of an infection. (2017)
An olive tree eradicated in the countryside of Torchiarolo, as part of the authorities' attempt to contain the Xylella fastidiosa outbreak. Olive trees are almost sacred in Puglia, a region that even has a law that forbids their eradication, making such scenes almost unimaginable before the detection of the bacteria. (2015)
Olive trees as firewood after the eradication of an olive grove infected by Xylella fastidiosa in the Valle d'Itria. No compensation has still been paid for the affected farmers, who also have to pay for the eradication themselves and often choose to do so by giving away the valuable wood. (2018)
An olive grove in the countryside of Ostuni shows the effects of a herbicide treatment against the bacteria's carrier insect. The plan to attempt to exterminate this common insect to slow the spread of Xylella fastidiosa has proved especially controversial because of the massive amounts of pesticides and herbicides involved and the obligatory nature of these treatments. (2018)
An olive tree in the countryside of Ostuni surrounded by netting meant to protect it from the insect that carries the Xylella fastidiosa bacteria from one tree to the other, a common species of spittlebug known in Italy as the “sputacchina”. (2018)
Cristian Casilli, member of the Regional Council for the Five Stars Movement, showing his party's in-depth report on the geographical aspects of Xylella fastidiosa, with the green areas showing the vast amount of Salento's land occupied by olive groves. (2019)
Salvatore Sergi and one of his sick, centuries old olive trees. Living deep in the area of Salento affected by the outbreak, Salvatore's fields are surrounded by dead trees on all sides, and yet he is trying all possible natural remedies in order to strengthen his olive trees and allow them to resist to the bacteria. He has invested large sums in natural fertilisers such as organic manure and bat guano, and is devoted to increasing the biodiversity of his fields, which since then have turned into vaguely extravagant gardens. He has also planted a vegetable garden among the mutilated, centuries-old olive trunks, which produce huge amounts of beautiful produce. (2019)
Pasquale Lombardo, farmer and olive grower in the countryside of Felline, in Salento. (2019)
A farmer takes a free sapling of the FS-17 “Favolosa” (fabulous) olive variety, at an event meant to adverthise this new variety which was developed for super-intensive implants and shows resistance to the Xylella fastidiosa bacteria. (2019)
A super-intensive olive grove in the countryside of Foggia, in the north of the region. Modern systems such as these are being proposed as a replacement for Puglia's traditional olive groves, leading to much controversy about their environmental sustainability, their resilience to future pathogens and the wisdom of persisting in a monocultural approach to olive cultivation. (2018)
A course on modern pruning techniques at Maglie's agricultural school, in Salento, organized by a group of activists in an attempt to improve agricultural techniques and increase the resilience of Puglia's olive oil sector. (2017)
A young olive oil producer from Locorotondo explains to a group of visiting tourists how to read the label on a bottle of olive oil, in order to be able to understand its quality and therefore its price. Producers such as this one are trying to educate customers on what “good olive oil” really means, and why it is so important to pay an adequate price for it. (2017)
A worker from ARIF checks for visible symptoms of the presence of Xylella fastidiosa in the countryside of Ostuni. (2019)
What remains of a centuries-old olive grove in the countryside of Vernole, in Salento. (2018)
