The highest expression of a millenary olive-growing tradition, Hyblon is a carefully selected oil from the Colli Iblei in eastern Sicily.
Always produced by the current owner’s family, it has been bottled by the Costanzo Company since 1993 and only in limited quantities. Hyblon Oil is made from selected olives of the “Tonda Iblea” and “Marmurigna” cultivars.
The company was born from the study and passion of Michele Costanzo, a doctor by profession, who had the idea of extracting a top-quality oil from the Iblei mountains using a processing method that was revolutionary for the years.
From this intuition Hyblon oil was born: the unique characteristics of the family olive groves between the municipalities of Cassaro and Ferla, exposed on terraced and very rocky terrain, the elegance of the drupes of Tonda Iblea and Marmurigna processed with care and precision gave birth in 1993 to the first bottles of Hyblon oil; the unique quality of the product was immediately recognized, so much so that in the following years the activity continued through a continuous improvement of the extraction process, equipping the company with a small mill with bottling and achieving recognition and appreciation in Italy and abroad.
In 2016, following Michele’s passing, the company moved to Ferla and passed to his partner and son.
The “Tonda Iblea” olive tree is the symbolic plant of the place; it has a twisted, twisted trunk of dark cracks; it grows on shallow, sunny, stony soils, sloping down in terraces on the “Iblei quarries.”
Nowhere else in Italy are there fruiting olive trees at the same altitude. The olive groves are cultivated traditionally without the use of toxic substances.
The ‘Tonda Iblea’ is a variety that is particularly rich in phenols, powerful antioxidants that not only favour the best preservation of the oil and its organoleptic properties, but also have a protective and beneficial action on the human organism.
The “Marmurigna” is the oldest grafted variety, according to myth coming to Sicily from the Greek-Minoan world with Aristeo, son of Apollo, as early as 1200 B.C. (sources: Diodorus Siculus); it is now found exclusively in the eastern slopes of the Hyblean Hills.
An archaic plant, imposing and vigorous, it bears dense, plump fruit of marble-like consistency.
The olive groves are located on the terraced crags of the plateau at 600/700 m above sea level.
Early hand-picked olives pressed within 24 hours yield an oil with a “bitter” flavor and intense fruitiness, with prolonged hints of herbs and artichoke.
Olive-grown territory of the municipalities of Cassaro and Ferla, province of Syracuse.
Height above sea level 600-700 meters, a condition that, together with exposure, often naturally inhibits the attack of the so-called “oil fly,” so the use of pesticides is not necessary. There is no use of chemical fertilizers. This is a climatically average area with minimal temperature fluctuations throughout the year.
The soils, divided into terraces by dry stone walls, enjoy optimal drainage as they are shallow, medium-textured and rich in lime.
Late September, at the time when fruit veraison begins. Harvesting is done exclusively by hand.
The olives, depending on the type and period, are pressed on the same day of harvesting in two-phase integral continuous cycle plants that that allow a very high quality product to be extracted and the different types of oils to be obtained from single variety batches.
The Hyblon oil, maintained at a constant controlled temperature, is filtered as soon as it is produced and stored in steel containers for subsequent bottling.
The territory of the Hyblean Mountains is naturally suited to the cultivation of olives because of the particular soil and climatic conditions: high hills, low humidity, excellent sun exposure and Mediterranean climate, shallow and very calcareous soils, immersed among the Hyblean quarries and characterized by a high biodiversity: it is estimated that 70 percent of European wild grasses are present in the Hyblean Mountains, while Sicily alone would host 30 percent of European biodiversity.
The morphology of the soils necessarily determines a type of agriculture that is rocky and not very mechanized, respecting the history and traditions associated with olive growing.
The peculiar characteristics of the Hyblean Mountains have made them a suitable place for olive cultivation since ancient times, so much so that in the town of Cassaro one of the first archaic olive presses in history is discovered and dating back to around 1000 B.C., between the Greek and Pre-Greek periods: more than three thousand years of olive cultivation in the Hyblean area are attested.
This magical land saw the first colonizations by the Greeks in Megara Iblea and Syracuse in the eighth century B.C.: it was they who imported the olive plant to Sicily, through trade from Anatolia and then from the Aegean Sea.
Inland on the western coast of Sicily stood the civilization of Pantalica (from the Greek ‘pantha lithos,’ ‘all stone’), a rocky enclave between two rivers, which today is Europe’s largest rocky necropolis and a UNESCO World Heritage site, and which in ancient times was an important settlement of the Siculians, present on the island since the Bronze Age.
The historians Polyenus and Thucydides tell us the story foundation of Megara Iblea in Sicily in the 8th century BC. : after years of trade and cultural exchanges between the two peoples, at the time when the Greeks landed to found a colony of their own city, it was King Hyblon of Hybla, identifiable by his proximity to the port of Thapsos and Megara Iblea with the settlement of Pantalica, who allowed the Megareans to found a colony on the seaward side of his own territory.
This protohistoric personage, the last ruler of a very ancient civilization belonging to the Siculi, who must have resided in the Anaktoron, one of the earliest megalithic structures with adjoining rooms built in Italy, dating from the age of Thapsos (14th/12th century B.C.) and located on the summit of Pantalica, was probably the one who peacefully allowed the construction of a Greek colony on his own territory: from this story comes the name of the oil we produce.
The Costanzo farm was one of the first to bottle quality extra-virgin olive oil in eastern Sicily, and Hyblon extra-virgin olive oil has been featured several times by national and international food and wine magazines over the years; it has participated in numerous competitions and exhibitions, garnering considerable recognition everywhere.
In November 2012, a tasting of HYBLON Novello oil took place at Gianfranco Vissani’s restaurant in Baschi, Terni. The tasting was a remarkable success with the select clientele of Casa Vissani.
The 5 drops, evaluation of excellence, were awarded to HYBLON olive oil by the Italian Oil Sommelier Association. President Franco Maria Ricci, for the years 2004-2005-2006-2007 at the Hotel Cavalieri Di Malta in Rome
2008 – The “chef de Cave” (head cellarer) Richard Geoffroy, the man who “signs” Dom Pérignon champagne has developed 7 pairings to enhance Vintage 2000. In the first, green leaves of the glacial plant, served on daïkon slices are delicately dressed with cold HYBLON oil.
Il Gambero Rosso September 1996: in collaboration with UMAO – the magazine draws up a special quality ranking of Italian oils on the market: the HYBLON oil reaches, among the first 60 selected, the second place.
ESQUIRE MAGAZINE November 2001: the authoritative magazine devoted an extensive feature to HYBLON oil and its places of production.
VERONA SOL 1998, 1999, 2000: at the LEONE D’ORO competition of the MAESTRI OLEARI, HYBLON oil was awarded the prestigious “GRAND MENTION FOR MEDIUM FRUIT EXTRAVIRGIN OIL” for three consecutive years.
I VIAGGI – La Repubblica June 1998: Marchesa Frescobaldi, promoter of the “OLEUM” event in Florence, reports HYBLON as one of her three favorite oils.
“CORRIERE DELLA SERA” November 27 2000: Enzo Vizzari writes, “in my personal hitparade of oils I have tasted during the year, there is HYBLON produced by Michele Costanzo.”
“L’ESPRESSO” Aug. 10, 2000: “In our notebook of the top ten great Italian extra virgin oils, we have always mentioned out the Sicilian HYBLON from Cassaro.”
CITIZEN K International International French edition summer 2002: “CRUS SOLAIRES Une sélection des meilleurs “fruits” de l’olive, miracle méridional” devotes a long article full of praise to Hyblon oil along with six other southern Italian oils.
2023 “Azienda Agricola Costanzo Olio Hyblon” di Paola Orlandi – Contrada Piantilenzo, 24 96010 Ferla (SR) VAT: 01901010205