A fifteenth-century author claimed that Garda was «a land blessed with olive trees, whence olives are picked, yielding oils purer and more perfumed than those from Piceno, Ficione, Venapro and Athens too, [used] not only to dress salads or fry fish and many other dishes, but also as a medicament… and mostly so the oil made from pressing the olives before they are boiled, the name of which is Virgin Oil». Messedaglia recalls vast expanses of olive trees, yielding bountiful oil, but the farmers would sell it, rather than consume it, so that they could earn a little money. Peasants used it sparingly, and made a rich, tasty bread with the residues of the olive pressing process.
In conclusion, a few lines written by Giorgio Gioco on Garda oil:«try pairing it with a poor dish, plunge your hands into the waters of the lake and fish out some sardines, small carps, brook chubs or eels, lay the fish on a bed of hot embers and sprigs of fresh herbs and you will perceive the marriage, the perfect harmonies of Lake Garda and Mount Baldo».
