Italy Puts Hundreds of Hectares of Olive Groves up For Sale

More than 660 hectares of olive groves are included in farmland lots currently listed for sale or showcased through Italy’s Banca delle Terre Agricole, according to data reviewed by Olive Oil Times.

The platform is operated by ISMEA, Italy’s Institute of Services for the Agricultural Food Market, which manages the listings and sale procedures.

Altogether, the lots with an identified olive-growing component span more than 6,300 hectares across several Italian regions.

However, olive groves are often only one part of much larger estates that may also include arable land, vineyards, pasture, woodland, rural buildings, uncultivated areas and infrastructure.

Lots already listed for sale total about 1,672 hectares, including roughly 219 hectares of olive groves.

A second group, currently being showcased ahead of the next sale window, covers about 4,666 hectares, including approximately 443 hectares of olive groves.

Combined, the two groups account for about 6,338 hectares of farmland with an identified olive-growing component, of which roughly 662 hectares are olive groves.

The figures do not represent all the land available through the Banca delle Terre Agricole, which also lists many properties with no olive-growing component. Instead, they provide a snapshot of the land most relevant to olive growers and agricultural investors.

The data also highlight the diversity of the offer. In some lots, olive groves account for most of the property. In others, they are marginal parcels within much larger mixed farms.

The olive-growing areas range from a few hundred square meters to dozens of hectares.

That distinction is particularly important in regions where the total amount of farmland is large but the share planted with olive trees is relatively small.

Sicily accounts for the largest surface among the showcase lots analyzed, with nearly 1,500 hectares of farmland containing an olive-growing component. However, identified olive groves account for only about 114 hectares of that total.

Tuscany also has a large amount of farmland among the analyzed lots, but several properties are broad mixed holdings in which olive trees are only one element.

Other regions present a different picture. Calabria and Lazio cover smaller total areas, but olive groves account for a much larger share of the available land.

In Calabria, several lots include substantial olive acreage, including holdings in Isola di Capo Rizzuto, Lamezia Terme, San Calogero and Seminara. In Lazio, the most significant olive-growing lots are located in Cori and Montelibretti.

The Banca delle Terre Agricole was established under a 2016 law to bring agricultural land back into productive use.

Its listings may include land from ISMEA’s own land-management activities, as well as properties owned by regions, autonomous provinces and other public bodies seeking to sell agricultural assets.

Registration is free. Once registered, users can review property information and participate in the public sale procedure.

The platform operates through two channels: a periodic section covering properties offered during the first three rounds of sale, and a permanent section for properties that remain unsold after those rounds.

Offers for properties in the permanent section may be submitted at any time until the land is awarded or withdrawn.

The showcase lots are one step behind the properties already available for sale. They are published before the next window for expressions of interest, which opens at noon on September 14, 2026, and closes at noon on November 14, 2026.

Submitting an expression of interest is not binding and does not require a security deposit. However, it is necessary for applicants seeking an invitation to the next stage of the process.

Applicants must also provide a certified email address, known in Italy as a PEC, through which official communications are handled.

Applicants whose expressions of interest are deemed valid receive an invitation to participate in the sale procedure.

Only then may they submit an economic offer. For land in the first three sale rounds, the offer must equal or exceed the auction base price and be backed by a security deposit equal to ten percent of that price.

The procedure may pose practical challenges for non-Italian and overseas buyers.

Economic offers are submitted through the notarial system in paper or digital sealed form, following the instructions included in the invitation letter and sale rules.

If competing offers trigger an auction, bidding takes place through RAN, the telematic auction network operated by Italy’s National Council of Notaries. The bidding notary participates through authorized local notaries.

Winning the award does not itself transfer ownership. The transfer is completed only after the notarial deed is signed and the purchase price is paid in full.

ISMEA may award a lot even when only one valid offer has been submitted, though it may also decide not to proceed with a sale.

If a successful bidder withdraws or loses eligibility, ISMEA may move down the ranking of valid bidders.

In the permanent section, offers may be submitted at any time until a property is awarded or withdrawn. Unlike properties in the periodic section, these lots are not subject to a new public sale notice.

Offers in the permanent section may be above or below the auction base price. However, ISMEA sets a minimum threshold, and no sale may proceed for less than 35 percent of the base price.

The Banca delle Terre also includes provisions for eligible young agricultural entrepreneurs.

For properties offered during the first three sale rounds, eligible applicants may request installment payments backed by a mortgage and subject to ISMEA’s assessment of their creditworthiness. The option does not apply to properties in the permanent section.