Giovanni Colavita

Before Colavita USA became one of the best-selling Extra Virgin Olive Oils in America, Colavita was a small family business on the opposite side of the ocean. A long time ago in the quaint hilltop village of Sant'Elia a Pianisi, located in the Molise region of Italy, two small family businesses were born. One family operated a stone mill for crushing homegrown olives used to produce fine extra virgin olive oil. The other family gathered the durum wheat harvest, milled the wheat into semolina grain and ultimately produced fresh pasta for the local market. Over time, both families became experts at their trade, passing their knowledge to the next generation, who in turn did the same. The two families had much in common not only in perfecting time-honored production methods, but also in name. They were both Colavita families. Today, the Colavita Olive Oil and Colavita Pasta companies are still family-owned and operating in the same town of their ancestors. They have since joined with another family-owned company, Colavita USA, and together they have shared the fruits of their respective crafts with American consumers for over twenty years.