Olio per lucerne. Contesti di studio nella Puglia di età romana

The systematic collection made here for the first time pertains to the literary, epigraphic and archaeological sources relating to olive cultivation and olive oil production in Apulia in the Roman period. It allows us to reconstruct a well-structured and productive framework. Furthermore, the comparison with the solid data relevant to the entire regional area allows for the hypothesis of a specialized olive oil chain also in the production of fuel oil. The synoptic analysis of the collected data draws an economic profile of integration between agricultural and artisanal productions. It then outlines a multifaceted landscape, far from the historiographical stereotypes that link Apulia et Calabria to the Cicero’s image of the region as inanissima pars Italiae (Cic. Att. 8, 3, 2). It also provides interesting prospects for the continuation of research in the field of eco-sustainable valorisation and the inclusive communication of the results achieved.