I call Giulia Mura on the phone and ask her how the summer of 2025 went in terms of olive oil tourism.
“Very well”, she answers. “For over 60 years we have been working to enhance and build around olive oil and wine a true project of hospitality and development for Ogliastra”.
It is not simply a matter of selling oil and wine: as Giulia Mura emphasizes, it is about giving value to these products, strengthening local identity, and creating an economy capable of enriching both communities and their land.
Olive Oil Tourism: a journey through olive groves and traditions
With Oleificio Pelau, olive oil tourism becomes an immersive experience: visits to oil mills, guided tastings, walks among centuries-old olive trees, olive harvesting alongside producers, and wellness activities linked to extra virgin olive oil. This is a kind of tourism that combines nature, culture, and flavors, allowing visitors to discover the territory in its most authentic essence.
Sardinia and Ogliastra: lands of excellence
Sardinia, with its unspoiled landscapes, and Ogliastra, with its terraces overlooking the sea and hills stretching towards the mountains, represent the beating heart of this new offering. Here, olive oil is not just a product but a symbol of identity, telling the stories of families, communities, and landscapes that are unique in the world.
The Academy of Taste
A further step on this path will be the creation of the Academy of Taste, which will rise within the estate of Josto Miglior. Thanks to investments from the European Community and the Ministries of Culture and Agriculture; starting in 2026 the Academy will become a benchmark in Sardinia for those wishing to learn about and promote olive oil and wine.
It is an ambitious project that looks beyond borders, aiming at international collaborations with producers across the Mediterranean Basin.
An identity-driven and sustainable tourism
As the Città dell’Olio association remind us, olive oil can become a powerful driver not only for agri-food but also for tourism: a unique element of identity that no other country can replicate. Alongside wine, it is the product that unites Italy and that, in Ogliastra, becomes the key to an authentic, slow, and sustainable form of tourism—one capable of boosting both the economy and the reputation of the region.
Today Oleificio Pelau is open for visits and tastings, offering visitors the chance to experience firsthand the scents and flavors of extra virgin olive oil. In recent years, we have welcomed an ever-growing number of travelers, eager to discover our history, olive groves, and traditions up close. A clear sign that olive oil tourism is not just a trend, but a true engine of growth and enhancement for Ogliastra, a land of centenarians, thanks in part to its diet — and olive oil plays an important role.