Olive Oil Train Enlivens 'Frantoi Aperti' in Umbria

Summary

The 28^th edi­tion of Frantoi Aperti cel­e­brates the olive har­vest with open days at local mills in Umbria, offer­ing vis­i­tors the chance to taste freshly pressed extra vir­gin olive oil and enjoy oleo­tourism activ­i­ties. The pro­gram includes the Olive Oil Train, a scenic rail jour­ney with guided tast­ings led by a pro­fes­sional taster, pro­mot­ing cul­tural and envi­ron­men­tal aware­ness in olive oil regions.

The 28^th edi­tion of Frantoi Aperti (Open Mills) is under­way, tak­ing place every week­end through mid-November. Organized by the Strada dell’Olio DOP Umbria (Umbria PDO Olive Oil Road), the regional land­mark event cel­e­brates the olive har­vest with open days at local mills, where vis­i­tors can taste freshly pressed extra vir­gin olive oil and learn about the pro­duc­tion process.

This year’s pro­gram invites par­tic­i­pants of all ages to enjoy a full lineup of oleo­tourism activ­i­ties that blend food, nature, art, and music, cel­e­brat­ing Umbria’s his­tor­i­cal, cul­tural, and culi­nary her­itage. Among the high­lights is the Olive Oil Train, which offers pas­sen­gers the chance to take part in guided olive oil tast­ings dur­ing a scenic rail jour­ney.

On four Sundays — October 19 and 26, and November 2 and 16 — trav­el­ers can reserve seats aboard a tourist express train from Rome (Lazio) to Arezzo (Tuscany), with stops in the Umbrian towns of Terni, Spoleto, Foligno, Spello, Assisi, and Perugia. During the trip, pas­sen­gers enjoy a guided tast­ing ses­sion led by a pro­fes­sional taster in the train’s restau­rant car­riage.

The ini­tia­tive was made pos­si­ble through a part­ner­ship between Frantoi Aperti, FS Treni Turistici Italiani (FS Italian Tourist Trains), and Fondazione FS Italiane (FS Italian Foundation).

Daniela Tabarrini, direc­tor of the Strada dell’Olio DOP Umbria, said the tast­ing takes place aboard vin­tage car­riages from the last cen­tury, mod­ern­ized and refur­bished. She explained that the jour­ney is enriched by guided tast­ings of Umbria’s new-sea­son extra vir­gin olive oils, offer­ing par­tic­i­pants the chance to learn tast­ing tech­niques while admir­ing the region’s olive-grow­ing land­scape.

Organizers reported lively enthu­si­asm and curios­ity dur­ing the first tast­ing ses­sions, draw­ing par­tic­i­pants of all ages and reflect­ing grow­ing, multi­gen­er­a­tional inter­est in olive oil cul­ture.

Emanuela De Stefanis, a pro­fes­sional taster who leads the ses­sions, said most atten­dees are new to olive oil. Groups include chil­dren, adults, and seniors, with a strong pres­ence of young peo­ple — ​“a sign that the new gen­er­a­tion is increas­ingly inter­ested in this sec­tor,” she said. The scenic jour­ney, she added, helps par­tic­i­pants fully immerse them­selves in the Frantoi Aperti expe­ri­ence upon arrival.

The pro­gram pro­motes mind­ful travel through olive oil regions, encour­ag­ing cul­tural and envi­ron­men­tal aware­ness — par­tic­u­larly since train travel sig­nif­i­cantly reduces CO₂ emis­sions com­pared to other modes of trans­port.

De Stefanis said par­tic­i­pants were eager to learn how pro­fes­sional tast­ings are con­ducted, how to rec­og­nize a high-qual­ity oil, and which mis­takes to avoid when cook­ing with olive oil. Many were also curi­ous about Umbrian cul­ti­vars and the health ben­e­fits of extra vir­gin olive oil. During the first ses­sion, the group sam­pled oils from Trevi, Bettona, and Lake Trasimeno while learn­ing about pro­duc­tion meth­ods and the rising costs pro­duc­ers face.

This year marks the 21^st anniver­sary of the Strada dell’Olio DOP Umbria, part of Italy’s net­work of olive oil roads and a pio­neer in pro­mot­ing oleo­tourism nation­wide. Following Frantoi Aperti, the asso­ci­a­tion will host sev­eral other ini­tia­tives through­out the year, listed on its web­site.