This saying has condensed in five words the beauty of a city. The beauty of a whole region, actually: the Campania. It is no coincidence that famous men – and I only mention Leopardi – have decided to spend the last years of their life in Naples. It could be because of the sun, the sea or the local population, often disparaged, but Campania is synonymous with happiness, smiles and light-heartedness. We cannot imagine a table in Naples without joviality and warmth, without the prosperity that has been identifying it for centuries as Terra Felix.

Thanks to the culinary melting pot of the individual provinces, it is possible to play with couplings between oil and food. You just need to decide whether to proceed by agreement or by contrast, creating an emotional approach and enhancing the peculiarities of local products and the selected oil of excellence. Why do not enhance a caprese dish with a vegetable oil taste to mix up the mix of aromas that distinguish this Mediterranean dish? Or match a dish of pasta with beans with a red pepper spicy oil?

We could go on forever, considering the hundreds of existing cultivars and the many delicacies of our land.

The manufacturer Antonino Mennella from Serre, in the province of Salerno, can produce in his company, Madonna dell’Olivo, three kinds of oil indeed: the pitted RaRo (50% Ravece and 50% Rotondella), the pitted Carpellese and the Itran’s.

The pitted RaRo looks dark green and shiny, particularly pleasing to the eye. Olfactory range is of the highest quality. You clearly recognize vegetable, fruity, balsamic scents and herbs. The more pronounced and persistent fragrance is given by green tomato, its leaf, its unripe petiole, that firmly holds the entire olfactory structure of this blend. You also find harmonious feelings of sage and rosemary of the Cilento coast. The taste is very structured, built around a constant feeling of bitterness of black aubergine, unripe artichoke and field rocket. Due to its complexity, it is recommended for the most varied couplings, following, depending on your needs and wishes, the best matching at that time, such as barbecued meat, grilled aubergine with mint or a typical dish of reginette with tomato and fresh basil.