Moura, Beja, Portugal, Nov. 27, 2024 (Lusa) - Publicising Moura's olive oil and the tradition associated with its production is the aim of a route created by the city council, Álvaro Azedo, the mayor of the district in Beja, in the Alentejo region of Portugal, explained on Wednesday.
The Moura Olive Oil Route is a ‘three-kilometre’ pedestrian route, classified as ‘easy’ and announced this week as part of the celebrations for World Olive Tree Day.
It allows visitors to get to know various points linked to the district's olive-growing heritage, "from a traditional olive grove to a modern one", among other important sites linked to olive oil production, but also what the town's streets "have to offer".
"This is the invitation that the municipality and the olive oil producers of Moura, the motherland of olive oil in the Alentejo, are making to those who visit us: that, through this route, they get to know us better and get to know all the potential of the Moura DOP [Protected Designation of Origin] and this tradition associated with the production of an olive oil of excellence," the mayor of Moura told Lusa.
The route, indicated on a map that can be requested from the municipal tourist office, includes seven points of interest on the Olive Oil Route, but also nine other tourist sites in Moura.
As far as the olive-growing aspect is concerned, it includes passages through a traditional olive grove and a modern olive grove, "establishing the parallel" between the two, the Olive Garden and the Fojo olive press, "a unique architectural and historical site on the Iberian Peninsula".
It also includes co-operative and business facilities "of capital importance" for the municipality, such as the shop of the Cooperativa Agrícola de Moura e Barrancos, "the mother of all farmers in the district", and Herdade dos Coteis, which "also follows the tradition of doing good things".
"Moura is the motherland of olive oil in the Alentejo, but we're not just interested in having this 'buzzword'. It's important that our intervention goes [forward] to show those who visit us and to mobilise our own people, both in defence of our farmers and our olive-growing heritage, in order to turn this potential into a tourist attraction," said Álvaro Azedo.
The Moura Olive Oil Route was announced in connection with World Olive Tree Day, which was celebrated on Tuesday at the initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), but whose celebrations will continue in Moura until Friday, including the nationwide initiative ‘The Liquid Gold Tree - Celebrating World Olive Tree Day’, promoted by the European project OLIVE4ALL.
Among the various initiatives taking place throughout the week in the district, there is also the screening of videos "related to the rich material and immaterial heritage of the olive tree" that aim to enhance "the Mediterranean diet as well", said the mayor.
The videos, released on the city council's social networks "at a rate of one per day", were created in collaboration with the Moura Senior University and challenge visitors to get to know various aspects of the town's identity.
"Not just the healing touches, but also the way we make olive preserves," said the mayor.
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Lusa
