Featured image for Connecting Tradition And Modern Quality With ISTRIANA

Connecting Tradition And Modern Quality With ISTRIANA

by Chloe Gordon on 01/03/2023 | 2 Minute Read

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In ancient Rome, Istrian peninsula, as part of the Roman Empire, enjoyed an unrivaled reputation for producing the finest olive oil in the known world, oil that was mentioned in the epic poems of the era:" Cordova, thou art more fertile than the unctuous Venafro and as perfect as Istrian oil" by Marcus Valerius Martialis. Istrian olive oil was distributed across the length of the whole Empire. After the fall of Rome, even though the large olive oil market was lost, the tradition of olive oil production survived and continued.

Today, the combination of Istrian soil, climate and unique position as the northern-most olive oil producing location in the world, Istria once again re-affirmed the recognition and reputation as one of the best olive growing regions in the world.

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In designing this bottle, we wanted to create a connection between Istria's glorious tradition of olive oil production and today's modern quality and practices. This contemporary bottle design represents integrated fragments of old amphorae, once used for storage and transport of olive oil in the Roman era, re-assembled in unity once again. Space between cracks is glass which allows us a glimpse to the inside of the bottle - olive oil.

Our intention was to to highlight the idea that olive oil binds and holds these various fragments together.

And just like clay that was used to make the original amphorae, red Istrian earth from olive groves is actually mixed into the color pigment of the bottle.

The box insert reveals the bottle to be the heart of the authentic shape of amphora used in Istria in Roman times, even further emphasizing the connection between past and present.

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