International Book Day is celebrated every year on April 23rd with the aim of promoting reading. Whether it is literary, inferential or critical, it has been shown that reading contributes to an increase in our life span as it reduces stress. It does this more so than listening to music or taking a walk, and is ideal when we are confined as it stimulates the mind and slows down cognitive deterioration. In turn, this improves our sleep habits and our social skills, since it makes us more empathetic by increasing our capacity to understand other thoughts. In short, it makes us smarter
There are many literary works which base their stories on magnificent and dazzling landscapes surrounded by olive trees, stories that convey the influence of a culture on its people, the value of a crop, which is capable of crossing borders and evoking the most romantic love stories.
This is the story told in Henrietta’s Olive Tree, written by Ken Dixon. The story tells of how Henrietta, after having lost her beloved husband, moved from the Roman capital to the south of the country, to the region of Campania. Here, large extensions of century-old olive trees occupy the land situated between the sea and the sun as if they were natural monuments.
After the passage of war and sacking, Henrietta discovers that her city Dolce Amperio is built on the legendary city of Misenium, where the largest naval base of the Roman Navy had been, which made this city one of the most luxurious places in Rome.
The city, which had suffered sackings by the German army, in addition to losing valuable items, lost its best treasure – its birth rate began to steeply decline. This is why Henrietta decides to investigate the problem. She then discovers one of the recipes of the Roman Empire, an empire which produced the best wine and EVOO in the Mediterranean. The recipe had undeniable aphrodisiacal qualities, qualities which could undoubtedly restore fertility in the city.
The Romans knew this secret, and current scientific studies corroborate it. That is, that the consumption of EVOO reduces libido problems by 40% and increases testosterone levels. EVOO and olive groves are a great ally of the literary world and the fertility of civilizations.