Olive Tree Plantings Across Italy Mark ‘Walking Among the Olive Trees’ Day for Peace

Summary

The 9^th edi­tion of Camminata tra gli Olivi Day, orga­nized by Città dell’Olio, drew thou­sands of par­tic­i­pants in over 150 Italian cities, com­bin­ing the cel­e­bra­tion of olive-grow­ing regions with a mes­sage of peace and unity. Participants planted olive trees in their munic­i­pal­i­ties as a sym­bol of hope and unity, with the ini­tia­tive cul­mi­nat­ing in Hiroshima dur­ing the 80^th anniver­sary of the atomic bomb­ing.

The 9^th edi­tion of Camminata tra gli Olivi (“Walking Among the Olive Trees”) Day, orga­nized by the national asso­ci­a­tion Città dell’Olio (Olive Oil Cities), took place on Sunday, October 26, draw­ing thou­sands of par­tic­i­pants across more than 150 Italian cities.

This year’s event com­bined the cel­e­bra­tion of Italy’s olive-grow­ing regions with a uni­ver­sal mes­sage of peace, dia­logue, and rec­on­cil­i­a­tion. Under the ban­ner ​“Let’s Cultivate Peace,” each par­tic­i­pat­ing munic­i­pal­ity marked the occa­sion by plant­ing an olive tree — a col­lec­tive sym­bol of unity and hope.

Citizens and vis­i­tors of all ages par­tic­i­pated in olive oil tast­ings and edu­ca­tional work­shops. They guided walks through local olive groves, which were orga­nized in col­lab­o­ra­tion with munic­i­pal­i­ties, schools, and cul­tural asso­ci­a­tions.

The ini­tia­tive, part of the Olive Oil Cities’ pro­gram for the Universal Jubilee 2025, forms a sym­bolic jour­ney that will cul­mi­nate in Hiroshima next month dur­ing the com­mem­o­ra­tion of the 80^th anniver­sary of the atomic bomb­ing. The cam­paign began in June with the plant­ing of an olive tree on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. It will con­clude with a cer­e­mony in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park, where a Mediterranean olive tree will be planted in the pres­ence of local author­i­ties.

“We are proud of the suc­cess of this edi­tion, which reg­is­tered 20,000 par­tic­i­pants,” said Michele Sonnessa, pres­i­dent of the Città dell’Olio asso­ci­a­tion, dur­ing the event held in Anacapri. ​“The olive trees planted this year speak of hope and of the future, demon­strat­ing our com­mu­ni­ties’ desire to live in a more just and sup­port­ive world. The olive tree is our silent flag against war, unit­ing peo­ple with its mes­sage of peace and dia­logue among cul­tures.”

Located on the west­ern side of the island of Capri in the Gulf of Naples, Anacapri was among the many towns that joined the ini­tia­tive. Alongside Sonnessa, Pierluigi Della Femina, pres­i­dent of the asso­ci­a­tion L’Oro di Capri, planted an olive tree in the town’s cen­tral grove.

“Every new tree we plant tells the story of a land that refuses to sur­ren­der to aban­don­ment but instead chooses care, knowl­edge, and beauty as seeds for the future,” Della Femina said. ​“Our asso­ci­a­tion is proud to con­tribute to this rebirth and to share this mes­sage of peace.” The Anacapri event included a walk through three olive groves in the Blue Grotto area.

Since 2012, L’Oro di Capri has been ded­i­cated to reviv­ing the island’s ancient olive groves and replant­ing new trees, while engag­ing the com­mu­nity and pro­mot­ing envi­ron­men­tal edu­ca­tion and healthy lifestyles.

The olive tree has long been the emblem of Mediterranean civ­i­liza­tions — a sym­bol of resilience, rec­on­cil­i­a­tion, and peace among peo­ples. Its plant­ing has marked moments of remem­brance and unity, includ­ing the tree in Palermo ded­i­cated to judge Paolo Borsellino and the one planted by Pope Francis in the pres­ence of the pres­i­dents of Israel and Palestine.

More infor­ma­tion is avail­able on the offi­cial Camminata tra gli Olivi web­site.