Since the end of the XIX century we have devoted our lives to the family tradition: the processing of canned fish, following the artisan methods we inherited from the Nonno Salvatore Olrando. The Orlando Olasagasti Family.
Fishermen (arrantzales) and women from the port posing with the Salvador Orlando factory in the background. Getaria (Basque Country).
Salvatore was sent to Getaria in the 20s from his native Sicily by his father where the family made a living fishing and processing canned anchovies.
Once in the Basque Country, Salvatore set up brine factories together with other Italian citizens on the Northwest coast of Spain. This millenary method was not known in Cantabria or in the Basque Country and has become one of our identifying marks. That is the reason why Italian surnames of those immigrants who came here in search of “the best anchovy of the world” are so common in the area.
Salvatore Orlando in his San Sebastián home
Salvatore got married to a Basque young lady, Simona Olasagasti. She was an elegant lady, with a strong personality, she was proud to be Basque. They had 6 children, lived and worked in Getaria for more than 10 years and went on to settle definitely in San Sebastián in the 40s. Salvatore set up other factories on the Basque coast (Ondarroa, Bermeo, Fuenterrabía, Laredo…) and diversified the industrial activity to eventually become the most relevant producer and exporter of anchovies from the Cantabrian Sea.
Salvatore died in San Sebastián in 1995, after the Olasagasti brand was born, under the surname of his beloved wife.
The family has always been linked to the world of canned food and to its expansion in Italy where our high quality products are so appreciated as well.
This time, it was Salvatore, having lived in Spain until his death, who sent one of his Basque sons to Italy: Ignacio settle in Genova in the 50s. He set up a importing firm for the goods produced in Spain.
Today, his son Matteo Orlando is the manager of the Markina (Basque Country) factory (Conservas Dentici, SL – Olasagasti) and, together with his sisters (in Genova), they are the 4th generation heading this business: White Tuna, Cantabrian Anchovy, Bluefin from Fuenterrabía and Mackerel from the Cantabrian Sea are our hallmark.
OLASAGASTI QUALITY CANNED FISH – Our family, our story, our work from OLASAGASTI on Vimeo.
You will find further information on the web.
No Comments