The Times has dedicated a lengthy profile to Helen Mirren, detailing not only her career and unconventional personality, but also the mission closest to her heart in recent years: saving Puglia’s monumental olive trees from Xylella fastidiosa.
In the article, written by Michael Odell and published on May 6, 2026, Helen Mirren explains how the crisis facing Puglia’s olive groves pushed her to take direct action:
«When you see members of a local family crying because the olive groves tended by their grandparents — and their ancestors even before that — are dying, you have to try to do something.»
Mirren recounts the paths Save the Olives has chosen to take: revitalizing olive groves with resistant varieties like Favolosa and Leccino, and saving the oldest trees with early grafting—a gesture that, if done in time, allows these living monuments to survive and return to production. On the significance of these trees, she is clear:
«Italians call the ancient specimens ‘monumental trees’ because they can predate the building of the Colosseum in Rome. And to me they are probably more important than the Colosseum because they are living things..»
Patrizio Ziggiotti, Mirren’s friend and general secretary of the campaign, does not hide his satisfaction with the results obtained:
«The Italian government has done almost nothing to help with the crisis but because of Helen, we are making progress. An agronomist is cultivating what is hoped will be new Xylella-resistant strains. If it produces good oil, it will need a good name. I believe we will call it Helen»
The interested party doesn’t agree:
«That’s very flattering, but I don’t agree. It should be named after the agronomist. You must call it Giovanni.»
The article also mentions the role of Filippo Berio (a brand of the Salov company), who has been co-funding genetic research on new varieties since this year.
We are grateful to The Times for raising international awareness of this emergency and the work of Save the Olives.
Read the full article on The Times
