A glorious 100-year history

Handed down from generation to generation for more than 140 years

The value of time in an oil with a unique flavour

For three generations we have been carrying on our passion for oil and our love for our land to produce a unique oil with an inimitable flavour and history.

In the exact centre of Sicily, nestled in the heart of the Sicani mountains, the Sanfilippo oil company was founded back in 1878, later inherited by the then very young Vitale Sanfilippo, who helped run the old mill until 1987.

In the shadow of Mount Kassar, a place of thousand-year-old stories, in the municipality of Castronovo di Sicilia, dear grandfather Vitale had a dream.

He wanted to obtain a unique and valuable extra virgin olive oil.

So one day, drawing on his savings, he decided to buy new machinery and improve the old mill. The work was hard and tiring but gave great satisfaction.

In the early days, there was no automatic machinery and in the first oil extraction processes, the grinding wheel was driven by a pair of donkeys.

This required Vitale to become the custodian of great knowledge and technique and as the years went by, he involved the entire family in his grand project.

In fact, he knew that in order to make a quality oil, it was not only important to have the right machinery and the knowledge learnt through years of work, but it was essential to have passion.

With the passing of the years and the advent of new technologies, manual systems were progressively replaced by semi-automatic systems.

And what started out as a small village mill slowly began to grow.

But Sicily was also changing, and probably the whole world, and so after a series of misadventures in 1987 the company was sold.

But Vitale's dream was not over. In fact, after three generations, in 2000, thanks to the support of their father Salvatore, their children Daniele and Luisa Sanfilippo revived the company that had been handed down to them and became the spokespeople of the oil-producing tradition started by Vitale.

Today, the Sanfilippo oil company has become one of the most prestigious companies in most national and international markets.

Thanks to long tradition and technical knowledge combined with the advancement of technology and a lot of passion, we are able to produce an unparalleled oil every year.

There are dreams that fade in the waking hours and others that last for generations. This is Vitale's dream, a dreamer with his eye on the future and innovations.

Our oil has

A Land Full of History

Our oil mill is located in a land full of history with very ancient origins! The first traces of the town Castronovo di Sicilia are confirmed by the existence of an archaic settlement in the contrada Grotte, on the banks of the river Platani near the Casale San Pietro a few steps from our oil mill, which can be traced back to the Sican people after whom our mountains are named.

The origin of the name Castronovo comes from the word Kars-nubu used by the Arabs who formerly claimed the land, until it became Castrum for the Normans. In the early 12th century, the population moved to the high ground, where two hamlets sprang up around two rich springs: the Rabat and the Rakal-biat. It was from these two hamlets that the present urban centre arose.

The actual city on the Kassar plateau was founded in the 6th century BC. The city possessed an important fortress, much disputed between Agrigentini and Imeresi; the struggle for its possession led to the destruction of the city. The surviving people took refuge on the San Vitale cliff, then known as the 'Royal Mountain': here the inhabitants felt much better protected from their enemies, given the strategic position of the cliff, and they spent more than five centuries there, during which time the Byzantines, Arabs and Normans succeeded one another.

Our real secret is

A Unique Ecosystem

Our olive trees grow in the Sicani Mountains territorya unique place located in the exact centre of Sicily. A very different ecosystem where most other Sicilian oils face the sea. Ours is a rugged land that alternates between rocky terrain and pristine forests of plane and pine trees.crossed by a mountainous complex that has two determining effects on the care of the plants, the ripening of the olives and the quality of the oil.

The mountains act as a protective shield against the wind, favouring a dry climate. This is optimal for the plants as they are protected from excessive wind and humidity. The second element is the composition of the soil characterised by the presence of arenaceous and flinty limestone deposited in the ivory-grey Mesozoic. These minerals enrich the fruit by increasing polyphenols. Organoleptically, these conditions make our oil a true elixir of the highest quality that is produced in small quantities to respect the characteristics of the plants and our land.

A slowfood choice

A glorious 100-year history

For three generations we have been carrying on our passion for oil and our love for our land to produce a unique oil with an inimitable flavour and history.

A Land Full of History

A Unique Ecosystem

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