Olio Dante

“The story begins in 1849 when Andrea Costa – the progenitor of the homonymous Genoese family – starts to sell olive oil and textiles from Sardinia to Liguria, later specialising in buying raw olive oil in Mediterranean countries. Giacomo Costa, Andrea’s son, has a very ambitious vision: bringing a little bit of Italy into kitchens around the world. That is what would lead him to found the ‘Giacomo Costa fu Andrea’ trading company in 1910.

“The first bottles of oil are sent to North America, Argentina and even Australia under the Dante brand as early as 1898. In the various trips they make to consolidate their sales network, the Costas realise the importance of connoting the product with an immediate link to Italy. This is why the name chosen for their oil is that of the renowned Italian poet Dante Alighieri, a classic symbol of Italianness.”    –Olio Dante

Dante Olive Oil was featured in the Los Angeles Times on September 3, 2014: “An employee checks a bottle of Dante olive oil as it travels along the production line at a factory in Montesarchio, Italy. New standards proposed in California would apply only to the largest California olive growers and millers.”    —LA Times

See a timeline of the brand’s history here.

Contributed by Laura Chiesa