OUR LAND

We are in Liguria, that narrow strip of land that divides the mountains from the sea, known worldwide for the Cinque Terre, Portofino, the pasta with pesto Genoese and the Taggiasca olives. Here one of the best extra virgin olive oils is produced. The land is characterized by steep hills, punctuated by dry stone walls and hidden coves that only man's patient and industrious work have managed to transform into terraced gardens where vineyards and olive groves grow. It is here that the range of Ligurian Delicatessen signed by Polla is produced. 

Halfway between Genoa and the French border, in the province of Savona and at 3km from the sea, stands the small village of Toirano, where you can find the Polla stone-mill that produces EV olive oil since 1875.

Inhabited since prehistoric times, Toirano now houses 2000 people. The economic reality of the village still maintains the imprint of the peasant civilization that for centuries has characterized the economy of the valley.  

The geographical position and the complex of natural conditions have allowed human settlement in the territory of the Val Varatella since prehistory. From the Stone Age traces of Toirano's past continue until the Roman age, the Byzantine era and the Middle Ages.

Surrounded by walls, defended by moats, by the river and by the walls of the tower houses on each side, the town still retains two of the five access gates, houses, arcades, and loggias. To the north of the village, you can see the church and the bell tower of the Certosa, built-in 1425 by the Carthusian monks. The convent of the Charterhouse was suppressed in 1797 with the arrival of French troops during the first Napoleonic campaign.

Going up the Val Varatella, just beyond Toirano, you will find the buttresses of a limestone massif of gray dolomites, furrowed by a series of valleys, with over 50 natural caves, open to the public in 1953 and today one of the major attractions that the hinterland of the Western Ligurian Riviera offers tourism, with a number of visitors exceeding 150,000 per year.

Did you feel like discovering our land? Come and visit us in our stores in Loano or Savona. We are waiting for you!