Olives

Along with wheat and grapes, olives form the historic trinity of Mediterranean agriculture. The tomato is a relative newcomer and does not partake of the symbolism the other 3 foods are endowed with. We break bread, extend an olive branch, find truth in wine. Try to imagine Italy without bread (or pasta) and wine. Think of the Tuscan countryside depicted in Renaissance painting, and you see neat rows of vines and olive groves. The Apulian plain produces great quantities of wheat as well as many tons of olives and grapes for oil and wine.