THE HARVEST OF OUR OLIVES IS DONE BY HAND, THIS ALLOWS US NOT ONLY TO CERTIFY THE INTEGRITY OF THE PRODUCTS BUT ALSO TO CHOOSE WITH CARE AND ATTENTION WHAT WE ARE GOING TO USE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF OIL.

Certainly, this procedure is not simple, nor quick, but it is the one that allows us an excellent final result. When using tools that shake the branches and leaves to make the olives fall, the times are certainly optimized, however, the shacking can first compromise the plant and then can cause injuries to the trees.

We use equipment but we do everything by hand. This is an ancient technique, which we have been carrying out for generations and that made us renowned throughout the area.

The processing then follows a long chain, divided into very precise phases that follow the harvest. The olives are washed with water to remove all impurities. Then they are crushed, with the crushing of the pulp, this process is followed by kneading when the compound obtained is mixed to obtain a base that allows the oil to be collected. When the pasta has been carefully processed, the extraction takes place.

In the end, there is the separation of the oil from the water and then storage when the oil is poured into the containers. Then we move on to quality control to carefully check that all processes have been carried out correctly.

The process is not simple, it takes time and a lot of sweat but obviously, this allows us to obtain, thanks to the knowledge and techniques that we have developed, a product that is unrivaled and, above all, genuine.
Our oil, the result of truly manual processing, can be the King of the table, for adults and children, even babies.

It was 1925 when a family of farm laborers moved from a small town in Tuscany to Campania, specifically to Giffoni Sei Casali in the hamlet of Prepezzano where coal producers were looking for labor.

And so my great-great-grandfather settled in that territory. After the war, food was scarce, and all they did was work from the first light of dawn until sunset. My great-grandfather met Baron Egilio Fortunato, who owned over 200 hectares of land in the area from Giffoni Sei Casali to San Cipriano Picentino.
There were orchards (peaches, apples, and pears) in the plains, while in the hills there were thousands and thousands of olive trees (specimens planted between 1500 until today) and chestnut groves towards the remote borders between Salerno and Avellino.

In those days the baron distributed the land on behalf of third parties to shake the costs of labor and the families who adhered to the baron's projects worked the land by dividing the proceeds for each production. And it was then that my great-grandfather Mr. Francesco Beatrice began to cultivate the estates in our possession today, putting into practice the techniques and advice of his Tuscan father, where the fame of the Italian oil produced in Tuscany and in other regions of Italy was already known at that time.

Later on, my grandfather Antonio Beatrice (o'Munaciello) who, after spending his childhood in the convent of s. Antonio di Prepezzano with the monks of that time, undertook the processing of centuries-old olive trees, becoming in effect the tenant of the properties of Baron Fortunato.

And it was precisely during the olive harvest period that the young Munaciello met the love of his life, took off his monk's robes and settled with his wife, Mrs Sofia Fiorentino. It was around 1950-55 when my grandfather became the most important farmer in the town, the baron transferred all his properties to the Azienda Agricola Beatrice with lease contracts (at the time stipulated by a handshake).

IN THAT PERIOD, IN THE SALERNO HILLS OF GIFFONI SEI CASALI, MY GRANDFATHER BEGAN TO ADOPT “INNOVATION”, BRINGING THE FIRST MOTOR HOES, THE FIRST MOWERS AND NETS FOR HARVESTING OLIVES TO THE TERRITORY.

In 1961 he entered into another agricultural company with Lorenzo and Alfredo Grimaldi where they bought the two mills in the area for the transformation of olives into oil. In 1965, Mr. Grimaldi became mayor of the municipality and for political commitments, he abandoned the company of the mill and it was so that my grandfather decided to sell an oil mill and keep one for the processing of the olives of his production.
In 1977 Picentium Oil, as it was called, was produced by the Azienda Agricola Beatrice and already at that time the product was distributed throughout Italy.

In 1983 my father Mario Beatrice became the owner of the Azienda Agricola Beatrice and in 1991 the activity comprised approximately estimated about 50 hectares of land among olive trees, chestnuts and hazelnuts. During this period, my father wasted no time to modernize the processing of olives, buying the oil mill where our oil is still produced today.

In 2008, I was 17 when I realized I had this passion in my blood, to the point that I abandoned my computer studies and moved to the agricultural institute. After completing my studies, I supported my father and grandfather on the land and in the oil mill until May 2018 when I became the owner of the company.

I REALIZE THAT WITHOUT THE SACRIFICES OF MY GRANDFATHER AND FATHER I WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY AND IT IS FOR THIS REASON THAT I WILL NOT SURRENDER TO THE GLOBAL CRISIS WE ARE GOING THROUGH.

I am trying to minimize production costs, leveling the hill terraces to ensure that the working process can be carried out mechanically, I use my knowledge to obtain a quality product and above all without resorting to chemical treatments.

In 2021 the big step: after more than thirty years since the production of Picentium Oil, Olio Beatrice was finally recognized DOP oil and granted the seal of Eccellenza Italiana.