OUR IDENTITY
Founded in Sicily in 1894 by Lorenzo Barbera, Manfredi Barbera & Figli S.p.A. is now one of the best-known olive oil producers on the international scene.
The Company
Love for Sicily and a passion for olive-growing, combined with the most advanced technology, have given rise to unique products which, over time, have grown into true ambassadors for Sicilian quality around the world.
Today, the company is the beating heart of the Manfredi Barbera Group, controlling six other associated companies, each of which has its own specific operating area. Among these is an important new sales office which opened in the United States in 2018: Manfredi Barbera USA, Corp.
The historic headquarters are located in the heart of Palermo, in the historic Palazzo Benso on Via E. Amari, while the modern production area is situated in Custonaci in the province of Trapani. The Custonaci production site was built and equipped with cutting-edge technological production systems.
Sicily, first and foremost.
We have identified over ten areas in Sicily, located in the island’s olive-growing zones, which produce the main native cultivars. The company constantly monitors all stages of cultivation in these areas.
Thanks to the great care taken in selecting the areas where the olives come from and the utmost attention which is paid to the delicate stages of processing, it has been possible to create unique olive oils certified with protected designation of origin or organically farmed status.
Production sites are located in Castelvetrano (TP), Sciacca (AG), Motta S. Anastasia (CT), Buccheri (SR), and Mistretta (ME).
Sicily, Italy.
While everything leads back to Sicily, the land where it all began, over the years Barbera has embraced the equally ancient traditions of other regions with a natural propensity for high-quality production, like Apulia and Calabria: sisters to the island of Sicily, bound together by the Mediterranean sea they share.
Oil mill
The experimental milla global one-of-a-kind, is a revolutionary plant with research and experimentation as its strong points. The olives are selected, cleaned and crushed in an outside area, in order to keep the inside space where the oil is extracted uncontaminated. When it comes to the crushing, no other company in the world can boast of having five different systems for milling olives: crushing with discs, hammers, opposing stone rollers, pitting, and discs and hammers working in parallel.
Celebrating the land
In 2001, the company took the helm of CO.FI.OL. (the Olive-Growers Consortium), the most important consortium in the olive-growing sector in southern Italy. This was the culmination of an immense operation to unite all of Sicily. CO.FI.OL. brings together: 5,000 small olive-growers, 300 farms, 60 mills and 6 packaging plants. In January 2020, the agricultural company of the Barbera Group, “Amore srl”, joined 291 other olive-growers in founding the cooperative O.R.O. SICILIA, the Regional Organisation of Sicilian Olive-Growers. This organisation of olive-producers aims to protect and promote the production of high-quality extra-virgin olive oil.