It's A Family Affair
The Bivona family has been in Gibellina for hundreds of years, documented back to at least 1600. Our family line were traditionally blacksmiths in Gibellina from the 1700s on into the 20th century, and some even continued that work in the US after emigrating. While Giovanni Bivona and Filippa Bonafede came to Waco over 100 years ago with young children, the family in Sicily continued to work as blacksmiths into the 20th century. The family in Italy also had some land outside of the town with the olive trees that produce the oil that is Aremi, while Giovanni eventually opened a grocery store in Waco at 8th and Dewey that operated until the mid-1960s.
The People Behind Bivona
Melissa and Brian Bivona own the land producing the Bivona oil. They live in Waco, Texas. Melissa is a retired teacher, and Brian is a semi-retired CPA. They do a good bit of the work on the land themselves, including all the harvesting and being directly involved in the crushing and bottling process as well. They have had the land since 2015, and they are usually there for 7-8 weeks throughout the year. They are close to their relatives and always spend time in Gibellina with them and other friends there.
They also partner with a friend there, Nicolò Ingoglia, who is a builder and farmer. He produces the same cultivar of olives that Bivona uses on land less than a mile away, and together they combine production to make the Bivona oil. Most of the production comes from trees that were already in production, but many new trees were planted five years ago. These trees more than tripled the number of trees, looking to increase production substantially in the coming years. The 2021 harvest was the first that we imported to Texas.
Where Bivona is Produced
The land where the olives that are used when making Bivona Olive Oil lies just west of Castellammare del Golfo. This land is at a low-altitude close to the coast.
The People Behind Aremi
Biagio Bivona and his sister Francesca Bivona had owned the land outside of the town, which is where the olive trees had been in the family for generations. Biagio’s grandson, Francesco Paolo Ottoveggio and Giuseppe Ottoveggio are the owners of Aremi. In the modern era, the family has changed a bit. Biagio’s daughter Antonella is a medical doctor, and Rosalba works at a bank. The grandchildren are doctors, attorneys, and businessmen.
Even through their busy careers, all of them still have a close tie to their roots and the land at Gibellina. Aremi is a word in Sicilian language, which is different from Italian language, that means gold. Specifically, this is an ancient gold coin, calling to mind the color of the Aremi oil. The round object in the logo is Aremi. Francesco and Giuseppe changed the production from primarily for friends and relatives to a commercial operation starting in 2013. We have imported the Sicilian Olive Oil to Texas since 2014.
Where Aremi is Produced
Aremi is located in the Belice Valley region of Italy, which was affected by an earthquake that destroyed all buildings in 1968, yet the olive trees were left standing. Three towns, Gibellina, Salaparuta, and Poggioreale, were heavily affected by this earthquake.
These three towns were rebuilt several miles away, but the old towns remain as ruins, although the Gibellina ruins were covered with concrete in 1984 as a memorial.
Those small, quaint hillside Sicilian towns were leveled in the massive Belice Valley earthquake of January 15, 1968. Even though the old towns are just historical ruins, the family farms remain, with the same olive trees that have been producing for many years.
Below, you can see the spot where the old towns stood. In 1984, they covered the area in concrete to serve as a memorial.
