A top quality olive oil has been produced for the first time from trees inside the high-security prison Sollicciano on the outskirts of Florence.
The project is designed to rehabilitate prisoners. It is the brainchild of the Marquis Frescobaldi who was also behind a rehabilitation scheme on a prison island where inmates produce 2,700 bottles of white wine each year which can sell for some €80 a bottle.
The Frescobaldi family, one of the country’s oldest noble families, own estates throughout Tuscany where wine and olive oil has been produced since the 13th century.
After the olives were harvested they were pressed in an ancient castle near Florence. The 300 bottles of extra-virgin oil are expected to go on sale for €19 each.
Some 200 young olive trees were planted this year in the prison garden to expand the scheme.
“The aim is to give prisoners the possibility of rekindling their passion for work,” the Marquis Lamberto Frescobaldi said.
“They didn’t have to be experts at producing oil – the important thing was to get them creating something with their hands.
“In Italy and the world recidivism is a huge problem – around 85% of prisoners go in and out of jail. But with projects like these, the rate can drop to just 20%. That’s a big saving for society.
“Our hope is that it will not be a one-off, but could become an example of Italian ‘best practice’ which could be exported around the world.”
In addition to the penal island Gorgona which is already producing wine under the Frescobaldi imprimatur, which has also expanded production with a further 2.5 acres of vines, the tiny prison island of Pianosa will be the next to deploy inmates in a viticulture venture.
Both islands are part of the Tuscan archipelago.
