Olive Trees & Olive Wood

AG: This past week in class we learned about olive trees and how many benefits these trees have. It seemed pretty much perfect that we learned about this topic this week, because it related so much with the city we went to, Assisi. Assisi was a small town compared to many that we have gone to, but it was still very beautiful. The Basilica of St. Francis is in this city, along with a few other churches, and plenty of little shops. In this town they had many shops with olive wood souvenirs, many religious items along with a “T” shaped designed cross that I was unfamiliar with. It was there that I learned that the “T” shaped crosses were made like that to show the actual representation of the cross that Jesus was crucified on. Aside from the “T” shaped crosses what caught my attention the most was precisely the olive trees and the olive wood shops. Perhaps it was because it was material that we had recently learned, or maybe it was the fact that the objects made with the wood were simply so smooth and beautiful. It amazes me how much a simple olive tree can do, and how many resources can be taken out of olive trees. Olive trees are very important in Italy because a simple tree can give olives, lead into a production of olive oil, or even be used to make from simple things like kitchen utensils. Outside the little shop where I bought my olive wood items from were actually a few olive trees and as you entered the shop you many different items like, olive wood bowls, spoons, napkin holders, and many other items. Assisi might have been a small town, but it definitely exceeded my expectations on lifestyle, resources, and its beauty.