Alex Santandrea is recognized as one of the pioneers of next-generation olive milling in Emilia-Romagna and is among the young professionals who are passionately and skillfully contributing to the renewal of high-quality Italian olive oil.
In the green heart of the Faenza Apennines, along the evocative Regional Park of the Vena del Gesso Romagnola—where hills alternate with ravines and the scent of wild herbs mingles with that of vineyards and olive groves—stands Azienda Agricola Prata, in Casola Valsenio (Emilia-Romagna).
It’s an authentic, unspoiled place where nature sets the pace and agriculture is a living part of both the landscape and local culture.
At the helm are Massimo and Alex Santandrea, father and son, guardians of an integrated agricultural supply chain rooted in a deep vision of the territory: peaches, apricots, vines, and olives grown with passion and processed entirely on site. At the core of this effort is a cutting-edge oil mill, strongly desired and built by Alex Santandrea himself.
Alex embodies a new generation of farmers who choose to stay, innovate, and create value with their own hands. His courage lies in merging entrepreneurial vision with love for the land—day after day, bottle after bottle. From pruning to harvesting, from milling to bottling, every step happens within the farm itself. This total control over the production chain allows for the creation of extra virgin olive oils with a pure, honest, and certified organoleptic profile—true expressions of the landscape where they are born.
This technical excellence has helped establish Azienda Agricola Prata as an authentic voice of the Romagna territory, capable of enhancing its olive-growing identity with expertise, respect, and an innovative spirit.
The company has recently started a major renewal of its olive heritage, planting around 1,000 new olive trees designed for mechanical harvesting, aiming for sustainable development and modern agriculture.
Today, Azienda Agricola Prata stands as a true example of how tradition can harmonize with technology to produce olive oil that tells the story and character of an entire region.
