Olive oil and mills in Dolcedo

How Taggiasca oil is made

Taggiasca is the typical olive of western Liguria and dominates the groves of the Prino Valley. The olives are picked in autumn and winter and must be pressed quickly, because they start to deteriorate after picking. The trees grow on dry-stone terraces: in Dolcedo olive trees are everywhere and the landscape is hand-made.

In the past pressing took place in mills driven by the stream. In general it worked like this: a water wheel turned a large stone millstone that crushed the olives into a paste; the paste was pressed and the oil was then separated from the water. That is why the mills stood on the banks of the Prino and the Rio dei Boschi, with channels carrying water to the wheel.

The golden basin: history of an economy

The spread of the olive is linked to the Benedictines of Lérins, to whom the bishop of Albenga entrusted the church of San Tommaso in 1103. In the 14th century the valley was nicknamed the «conca d’oro» because of the oil. In the 17th century, when Genoa granted administrative autonomy to the Terziere di San Tommaso, the village built the town loggia: under its arches you can still see the marble measures for oil and wine and the iron rods for measuring cloth.

How many mills were there? Sources disagree. Some write «119», others «more than a hundred», and none gives a list. That is why we say «more than a hundred mills and presses over the centuries». How many still work today is not confirmed.

What you can really visit

Dolcedo has no olive oil museum: for that go to the Museo dell’Olivo in Imperia. There is also no official list of mills open to visitors with hours. The «L’Olio» page on the Comune di Dolcedo website is the first place to look.

• Remains of the mills: many are now houses, storerooms or private property. They are seen from public spaces, without going in. Wheels and channels are best seen near the Ripalta bridge on the Rio dei Boschi.
• Working mills: at mills you can buy oil and sometimes join visits or tastings, usually by booking. Call before you go, and do not rely on hours found on booking platforms.
• Two restaurants in mills: Equilibrio, in the Martin district, is in a restored old mill on the Prino. Casa della Rocca, on via Ripalta, is in an early 20th-century mill that still has its press and millstone. Both are in the Michelin Guide; book directly.

A walk between mills and bridges

Start from the old centre of Dolcedo, at 75 metres above sea level.

• From the outer car park walk to the Ponte Grande, the medieval single-arch bridge over the Prino (inscription 1292, but sources disagree on the date).
• Go through Piazza Doria: under the loggia, look at the marble measures for oil and wine.
• Follow the stream, looking at the houses over the water: some are old mills.
• Reach Ripalta, where a stone bridge crosses the Rio dei Boschi and you can see the wheels and channels of the water mills.

The Ponte Merea and the Ponte Martelli, on the mule track towards the Merea, belong to the Sentiero dei Ponti, but in 2016 the Merea was closed as unsafe. We have no confirmation of its current state: ask the Comune and do not cross fenced-off bridges.

Olioliva and the rest of the year

The new-oil festival is not in Dolcedo but in Imperia: Olioliva takes place in early November, and the dates of each edition should be checked in the official programme. Do not confuse the two: Dolcedo has no documented «oil festival». To taste new oil choose November-December and ask at the producers; to walk among the olive trees go in spring or early autumn. In summer check the orders on woodland: the Comune declared a state of serious wildfire danger in July 2026.