Itrana
One variety, two harvests months apart: picked green in autumn it gives a high-oleic, green-tomato oil, and left to turn fully black it becomes the Oliva di Gaeta. It also carries real winter cold tolerance, which is rare in this company.
In the grove
Itrana takes its name from Itri in the province of Latina and accounts for around 70% of the olive plants there; 208 of 211 samples in the national database came from Lazio. The tree is highly vigorous with an upright habit and dense canopy, roots readily, and is self-incompatible — Leccino, Pendolino and Olivastro are used as pollinators. It tolerates the main fungal diseases but is susceptible to olive fly.
Its mean oleic acid of 76.47% across 211 commercial samples is the highest of the Italian varieties in this set, and the DOP Colline Pontine sets a floor of 72% along with a phenol minimum above 100 mg/kg. Ripening is late and staggered, which is exactly what makes the two-crop strategy possible.
Compared with the other reference cultivars
| Cultivar | Origin | Typical polyphenols | Sensory profile | Best pairing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Itrana | Lazio, Italy | ~381 mg/kg mean | Green tomato and almond, medium bitterness and pungency | Buffalo mozzarella, bruschetta, braised greens |
| Picual | Jaén, Spain | 300–700 mg/kg | Intensely green, clean bitterness, late-building pungency | Tomato salad, grilled vegetables, bread and salt |
| Coratina | Puglia, Italy | 330–410 mg/kg | Powerfully green and herbaceous, strong bitterness and pungency | Bean soups, grilled meat, bitter greens |
| Koroneiki | Messinia, Greece | Around the Greek mean; Cretan surveys 138–441 mg/kg | Green and aromatic, balanced bitterness and pungency | Greek salad, feta, grilled fish, horta |
| Arbequina | Lleida, Spain | 200–230 mg/kg | Soft, sweet entry, barely bitter, light pungency | Fish, salads, baking, mayonnaise |
| Frantoio | Tuscany, Italy | ~230 mg/kg | Aromatic and grassy, bright green, firmly pungent when early | Ribollita, grilled bread, white beans |
| Leccino | Tuscany, Italy | ~150 mg/kg | Mild and soft, light spice, low bitterness | Fish, delicate vegetables, blending with Frantoio |
| Moraiolo | Umbria, Italy | ~270 mg/kg | Intense and structured, pronounced bitterness and pungency | Legume soups, grilled meat, bruschetta |
Polyphenol figures are the ranges published for each variety, not measurements of any bottle in the library. A single oil's figure depends on when it was picked and how it was milled, and is shown on that oil's own page where the producer states one.