Italian olive oil bounces back after one of the worst years in history

Touring their centuries-old olive orchard and state-of-the-art oil mill with just a month to go before harvest, Crudo’s Giuseppe Schiralli and Antonio Rutigliano are all smiles. At this time last year, no one could have blamed them if they’d been hiding in their offices curled up in a fetal position. Yes, the season Italians are calling l’anno brutto or l’anno nero (the ugly year or the black year) is finished.