cerrito sannita and san lorenzello – two small towns in benevento, italy

this is where it all comes from.

in benevento, in the hills around cerrito sannita and san lorenzello, i spent months at a time growing up. summers that felt long and slow in the best way. we would wake up early, sometimes before the sun was fully up, pile into the cinquecento, and head out to the fields. the days were simple. picking olives, filling the nets, moving row by row. by the end of it, my hands were stained and the air smelled sharp and green. my favorite part was riding on the tractor, gathering the rolled cloths heavy with olives, then bringing everything to the local mill. i remember watching the big stone wheels turn, crushing the olives into something new. it did not make sense to me at the time how something so small and firm could become oil.

but it did. every time.

my grandfather, paolo isadoro “izzi” festa, was from san lorenzello, known as the city of ceramic. my grandmother, assunta, was from cerrito sannita, a town with a long history of craftsmanship and rebuilding.

both of their families made their own olive oil for generations. not for show, not for sale, just for life.

being able to share that now, even in a small way, means everything.