Olive oil, like wine, has been around forever. For people of the Mediterranean, it has had medicinal, even magical powers through the ages. The olive tree is considered a symbol of peace and glory. Olives were first cultivated in the eastern part of the Mediterranean around 5000 B.C. Cultivation spread to Turkey, Greece, and Egypt before it reached southern Italy, Africa, and southern France. Italy was producing olive oil by the first century A.D. (more…)