And then, of course, there is the olive oil, the sine qua non of Mediterranean cuisine. In times not too long ago, the hills around Orvieto were covered with olive groves, and the region would produce numerous quintals of olives and barrels of oil. Today the exploitation has become less intensive, but the region still produces a high-quality virgin olive oil, and the winding road crossing the hills from Orvieto to the nearby Todi is still known as the « Olive Oil Trail ».