The European Union has granted Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status to extra virgin olive oil from the hills around Bologna, Italy, under the new designation “IGP Olio dei Colli di Bologna” (Bologna Hills PGI Oil), the region’s third EU-protected olive oil label.
A Twenty-Year Revival Earns EU Recognition
The designated production area covers municipalities south of the historic Via Emilia road in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region. According to Ermanno Rocca, president of the Rete Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva Colli di Bologna (Bologna Hills Extra Virgin Olive Oil Network), the local olive-growing area has expanded from a handful of small orchards two decades ago to more than 450 hectares of registered groves today. The network, founded in 2017, filed the PGI application in 2021, and full certification for individual producers is expected to be completed by November 2026, in time for this year’s harvest. The area sits within a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized since 2023, the “Evaporitic Karst and Caves of the Northern Apennines,” where outcropping gypsum rock and south-facing slopes create a microclimate that has supported olive cultivation since at least the 1700s, including 29 catalogued centuries-old trees, some more than 300 years old.
What the Designation Covers
Bologna Hills PGI Oil permits monovarietal oils from cultivars including Correggiolo, Frantoio, Nostrana di Brisighella, Ghiacciolo, Farneto, Montebudello, Montecapra, Montecalvo 2 and Oliveto, which must make up at least 85 percent of the oil, with up to 15 percent from other varieties. Blended PGI oils may also include Leccino and Maurino, with two or more eligible cultivars required to reach at least 80 percent of the blend. This is the third EU geographical indication awarded to an Emilia-Romagna olive oil, following Brisighella PDO and Colline di Romagna PDO. For international buyers, the launch is a reminder that Europe’s olive oil map keeps fragmenting into smaller, tightly defined, quality-certified zones — a trend that raises the bar for how origin and traceability are marketed, and one that Tunisian olive oil, with its own AOP designations such as Zarzis and Teboursouk, is increasingly positioned to compete within on the strength of terroir rather than volume alone.
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FAQ
What is Bologna Hills PGI Oil?
Bologna Hills PGI Oil (IGP Olio dei Colli di Bologna) is a Protected Geographical Indication granted by the European Union in September 2026 to extra virgin olive oil produced in the hills south of Bologna, Italy, recognizing the area’s specific growing conditions, native cultivars and production methods.
Why does a PGI label matter for olive oil buyers?
A PGI label legally certifies that an olive oil was grown, harvested and pressed within a defined geographic area using approved cultivars and methods, giving buyers a verified guarantee of origin and quality that supports premium positioning and helps prevent mislabeling or blending fraud.
Source: Olive Oil Times
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