Photo by Federico Burgalassi. Retrieved from oliveoiltimes.com
One of the seven islands of the Tuscan archipelago, Giglio covers 21 square kilometers and is located nearly 16 kilometers off the region’s southern coast.
Fewer than 1,500 people live year-round on the island, characterized by hilly terrain, steep terraces that slope toward smooth, pale granite cliffs, and a few sandy beaches much sought-after by vacationers during the warmest months.
“An olive mill has been operating on the island until the mid-1990s,” Bancalà said. “Our ancestors landed on these coasts between 1560 and 1570, and afterward, they were most likely engaged in olive farming.”
“Indeed, today, we are taking care of trees that have been passed down to us from our great-grandfather, who produced olive oil,” he added. “The company’s name is a tribute to him; Goffo is the nickname by which he was known in the village.”
Agriculture, primarily viticulture, has always been vital for the economy of Giglio, which was also home to a pyrite mine that provided work to more than 300 islanders from 1938 to 1962. Then, in the 1960s, tourism started developing and gradually supplanted the other activities – for several years, only some villagers continued cultivating the land.
Over the past two decades, a renewed enthusiasm for farming began to spread on the island. In the early 2000s, some entrepreneurs reintroduced Ansonaco (the local dialect for Ansonica) wine, made from an autochthonous white grape, onto the market.