Educational paths and schools in nature “Old Olive Tree”
Olive - a monument of nature
The olive tree in Kaštel Štafilić is more than 1500 years old. It is called Old olive tree, or Mastrinka, as the locals call it.
Olive, her majesty
At this workshop, participants will hear many legends about Mastrinka and other olives and learn how to make their own soap.
Interpretation infrastructure of Old olive tree
The oldest Kaštelanka – Mastrinka
It is not polite for a lady to mention her age, but the oldest Kaštelan olive is at least twice as old as the oak from Gomilica. It even remembers Roman times, when as a tiny seed it found its place under the sun and took root in the ground between the mountains and the sea. She was still beautiful and young when the newly arrived Croats pushed the Romani population to the cities by the sea. In the Kaštela field, they found gardens, vineyards and olive groves, fertile land and sources of drinking water. Our Mastrinka also grew in one such olive grove. Until then, warrior Slavic hands quickly learned to care for it, so over time it ended up in the possession of the Croatian rulers Trpimirović. Later, the gentle slopes of Kozjak were settled by the noble Croatian families Didići and established their settlements there. But there was almost never peace in them. The communes of Split and Trogir occupied the field part by part, so that in the end, at the beginning of the 15th century, they were conquered by Venice. A few decades later, the Ottomans (Turks) started ravaging the area, so it was no longer possible to live in the old settlements on the slopes of Kozjak. As the lords of Split and Trogir built fortified defensive castles on the sea coast, the Croatian population moved to their vicinity. In return, they had to serve as border soldiers, spending time in constant battles with the Ottomans.
Old olive tree – schools in nature
“As soon as the Ottomans retreated, the industrious people built beautiful stone towns next to each of the seven castles. That’s how the thousand-year-old olive tree has now found itself in the area of Kaštel Štafilić. Since then, the hard-working people of Kaštel have cared for it carefully, to which it reciprocates by gifting them with pure golden oil.”
“Today, the old olive tree is protected as a natural monument, and its first neighbors, children from the nearby kindergarten, keep it company. In the shade of its huge canopy, they rest and play, studying the birds, insects and rodents, fungi and lichens that the olive tree has become home to. She never dreamed that she would become a teacher in her old days…”