A Century of Roots, A Family Legacy, and the Oil That Found Its Way to America
There is a small town in western Sicily called Partanna, nestled in the Valley of Belice, where the air carries the scent of earth and olive blossoms. The hills are lined with ancient trees, and the name Nocellara is more than an olive, it is a way of life. For generations, families here have livedm by these groves, building their identity around one of Italy’s finest oils. This is where the story of Zagarello begins.
Queens, New York — 1969. Gino Gagliardi was born to Sicilian immigrants who carried Partanna with them across the Atlantic. His mother, Rosaria, left Sicily at 21, making five solo ten-day voyages by ship just to see the man she loved, Vincenzo Gagliardi. On her final trip, she married him quietly in Sicily and brought him back to America, carrying with them not just a future, but the soul of their homeland.
Back in Partanna, Vincenzo’s younger brother Gino married Franca Accardo, whose family had farmed olive groves for generations. When the Accardo family emigrated to Canada, the land was left behind, and it fell to young Gino and Franca to work it. By 19, he had taken full responsibility for the farm, already recognizing the value of what they were producing.
Year after year, Uncle Gino harvested his olives and brought them to the mill, receiving only a fraction of their true worth. The oil would pass through many hands, gaining value each time, while the farmer remained exhausted and underpaid. The people of Partanna worked endlessly, yet saw little reward for something the world clearly prized.
Some farmers tried to sell their oil directly. Most failed. But one succeeded, becoming the well-known Partanna Olive Oil brand, proving it could be done. Uncle Gino believed his oil deserved the same recognition, but life in America kept his brother Vincenzo too busy to help make it happen.
Growing up, young Gino spent summers in Sicily, running through those groves and helping on the farm. The smell of fresh-pressed oil, the rhythm of harvest, and the pride in his uncle’s work stayed with him, even if he didn’t realize it at the time.
In 2017, after the passing of his father, Gino returned to Sicily during a difficult moment in his life. His uncle, now 75, made a simple request: if i send 200 tins of freshly pressed oil to New York , see if anyone wanted it. After independent IGP testing confirmed exceptional quality, the oil quickly gained attention. Friends, then restaurants, then more customers. A label was created, a bottle designed, and Zagarello was born.
From those first 200 tins to over 1,600 liters today, Zagarello has grown into a recognized extra virgin olive oil, even earning a Silver Medal at the EVO-IOOC International Olive Oil Contest. Now sold across the United States with growing international interest, it remains rooted in Partanna, where Uncle Gino( at 82 y.o.) still tends to his trees alongside his son (luigi ) and grandson gino (15) with the next generation ready to carry it forward. After more than a century, the world is finally beginning to taste what they built.
