Popular in Italy and abroad, it has gained the protected designation of origin (PDO) by the European law since 2005 and a proper consortium was established in 2018.

The name comes from the Italian word oliva ('olive') and the adjective ascolana that refers to the city of Ascoli Piceno, the original place of the product.

They can be served by their own or with other types of fried food (lamb cutlets, zucchinis, artichokes, cream) to create the so-called fritto misto all'ascolana (lit.

[8] The Romans called these olives colymbades (from the Greek verb κολυμβάω, colymbáo, meaning 'to swim') for their method of conservation in brine, or also Ulivae Picenae.

They are mentioned by authors as Cato the Elder, Marcus Terentius Varro, Martial,[9] and Petronius who describes them as a constant presence on the table of the character Trimalchio.

[10] The fall of the Roman Empire did not stop the business of the olives: in particular, it is known that during the Middle Age it was a main activity for the local Olivetans monks.

In fact, by that period, the nobles were essentially landowners so their peasants had to regularly bring them some products from their possessions especially meat, the main food in aristocratic diet.

In order to manage the great amount of beef and pork without make them rot, the cooks at service in the mansions started to mince the meat and put it inside the olives.

Even Giuseppe Garibaldi, who discovered this specialty during a brief stay in Ascoli Piceno while escaping from Rome in 1849, was really impressed by its taste and, years after, he tried to plant the cultivar in his island, Caprera, without any success.