Salustri Oil Mill

The Salustri Oil Mill, once owned by Luigino Mercuri, was born out of an injustice that befell the latter. One day he brought his olives to be milled at a mill, but during the process the machinery stopped, with the olives still inside. The oil yield was very poor, due to the machinery breaking down during the milling process. Luigino tried to find a compromise, understanding the breakdown of the machinery, but also asking that his poor oil yield be acknowledged. The miller at the time, using the dialect of the village, replied to him, “Giovanò,se voi fa come te pare, tocca che a mola t’ha mitti,” meaning “if you want to do as you say, the mill must be yours.” Luigino calmly replied that he would open his own grinding wheel. It was 1975.

Unlike modern mills, Luigino’s was equipped with stone machines and presses with fiscoli. There were not the huge containers of today, but yuta bags full of olives, stacked on top of each other. Only 7-800 kg of olives could be milled every hour, a quantity that with today’s machinery has greatly increased, thanks to technological innovation that has made it possible to optimize the process and process a much larger quantity of olives in less time. In 1979, Luigino began to replace the old machinery with more modern ones, improving the quality of the oil, which came less in contact with the air, thus reducing the dispersion of polyphenols.

Harvesting began on November 1 and continued until January. From the beginning of the season, Luigino would hire 5 to 10 workers, whom he treated as his children. Every day he would go to the chocolate factory to get chocolate boards to distribute to the workers so that they could munch on them throughout the day, both sweet and savory. He never missed bruschetta, which he prepared for everyone, workers and customers. In addition, Luigino’s wife was responsible for preparing lunch and dinner for all the workers, making the mill a true extended family. To pamper the customers, Luigino always offered candies, especially the Rossana.

Luigino carried on his business with great passion and dedication, becoming a reference point for many people because of his friendliness, precision and hundreds of other qualities that made him unique.

After much work, Luigino sadly left us. His daughter insisted on giving the oil mill to Enrico, once Luigino’s worker, who now carries on his business as the new owner, keeping all the old habits. Candy for customers, lunch and dinner for his employees, and bruschetta with that wonderful oil that no one ever refuses.