Museum of the olive tree

The museum, conceived and created by the Municipality of Trevi, with a substantial financial contribution from the Region of Umbria and the European Community, is devoted to the culture of olive oil and the cultivation of the olive tree. It is housed in the former monastery of San Francesco, built in the 13th century and renovated in the 19th century by Giuseppe Valadier, situated next to the church of the same name and the municipal art gallery.

The underlying reasons for the exhibition project are based on two main themes.
The first originates from the idea of offering the visitor a description of, and the opportunity to gain familiarity with, the microcosm connected with the cultivation of the olive tree and the production of oil in the local context.
The second theme broadens the horizons to delve into the millenary history of the olive tree and its oil in the context of the Mediterranean.

This museum system stresses the close relationship that exists between the cultivation of the olive tree, its product, the transformations and evolutions of the environment in which the olive tree has grown and been cultivated, with its social and economic implications.
A guided tour is offered by a local farmer who accompanies the guest into the cycle of olive tree cultivation and oil production and preservation, offering information on the various processing and extraction techniques, without overlooking the typically local rituals, superstitions, and religious beliefs.
The second theme broadens the horizons to delve into the millenary history of the olive tree and its oil in the context of the Mediterranean.
It is a concise but complete exhibition, which is structured into four sections: botany, knowing the oil and the olive tree, the olive tree as a symbol of peace, and the history of the olive tree.

With the aid of videos and multimedia, the visitor is informed about the modern milling and cultivation techniques. In the same section there is the possibility to taste and learn to distinguish the different types of oils, and print out recipes that use olives and olive oil.
The use of objects connected with the symbolism of the olive tree and the use of its oil in the Mediterranean context is documented by both the display of a collection of Middle Eastern and European oil lamps and unguentaria, and that of archaeological finds (2000 BC) discovered in the perfumery and pharmacy of Pyrgos on the island of Cyprus.