Lugano Olives are actually Swiss olives, though they are usually classified as Italian (a) because of the name and (b) no one can imagine olive trees growing in Switzerland.
The town of Lugano is on the shore of Lake Lugano (aka Lake Ceresio) in the Italian speaking Ticino part of Switzerland, which is south of the Alps. There, winters only go down to about 28 F (-2 C), and summers are hot and humid. The trees are grown at the bottom of the slopes of Monte Bre along the lake.
The olives are harvested when fully ripened to black.
They are sometimes bottled with a few olive leaves in with them. They have a salty taste.
An olive oil is also made, which is only sold in Lugano.
History Notes
Greeks actually settled in this Lugano area about 100 BC. They found that they could actually grow olives there.
