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This amendment concerns Article 9 of the product specification and point 5 of the single document. The link described in the summary published in the Official Journal of the European Union contains information partly given under point 4.4 and partly under point 4.6. The proposed new version should therefore be examined taking into account the first paragraphs of points 4.4 and 4.6 of the summary. The link has been redrafted, with no changes to the first part corresponding to the paragraphs in point 4.4. of the summary on the historical background, whereas the second part, corresponding to point 4.6 on the characteristics the land, the climate and the specific nature of the product, has been reworded. The link (Article 9 of the specification and point 5 of the single document) has thus been redrafted to bring it into line with the European Commission’s guidance on drawing up the single document. In particular, the new version also takes into account the proposed changes to the geographical area. References to slopes of Mount Etna given over to olive-growing but no longer relevant given the extension of the demarcated geographical area have been deleted. The existing text reads as follows: “Olive cultivation was introduced to eastern Sicily by the Phoenicians in the first millennium BC and the Greeks from the 8th century BC. The presence of an active volcano in the area fed the myth surrounding olive cultivation: the Cyclops Polyphemus, the personification of the volcano with his single fiery eye, was blinded by Odysseus and his companions using the trunk of an olive tree. Over the centuries, olive-growing took on great importance for the area’s economy. As early as the 3rd century BC, the Romans taxed the island’s oil heavily to prevent it from competing with oils from Campania and Lazio. Later, when the Arabs ruled Sicily, the crop was improved and rationalised through their ingenuity. References to the importance of ‘Etnea’ olive oil production can be found dating as far back as Pietro Bembo’s De Aetna, which refers to the quality and value of olive-growing around Mount Etna. This local production was later referred to in the works of the naturalist Lazzaro Spallanzani, the writers Antonio Stoppani, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Guy de Maupassant, and many others. On a trip to Sicily in March 1827, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote very enthusiastically about it, referring to the prosperity and abundance found in the Mount Etna area thanks to the presence of this crop and the fact that the land it was grown in was particularly fertile due to the specific properties bestowed on it by the volcano. Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Etnean olive oil was known and regarded highly by many Italian and European consumers. Considerable quantities were traded at Riposto, the port nearest to Mount Etna. The defined area is a mountainous region at altitudes of between 100 m and 1 000 m above sea level. It forms part of the volcanic mountain landscape of Mount Etna, more specifically the slopes on the volcano’s northern, western and southern faces. Olives are not grown on the volcano’s eastern face. The local microclimate found in this defined area can be classed as a highland Mediterranean climate. Coupled with the type of land – volcanic, with bedrock formed by Mount Etna’s ancient and more recent eruptions, and sandy and highly skeletal soils – this gives the product the unique and irreproducible characteristics that can be observed in physical, chemical and organoleptic testing. Recent research has shown that there are significant differences in the free fatty acid composition of ‘Monte Etna’ oil that can be traced back to its area of origin. This is also demonstrated by tests comparing ‘Monte Etna’ with oils from adjacent areas. These differences are clear enough for us to ascribe the oil’s chemical characteristics to its geographical origins. Due to the characteristics of the soil and climate, plant species have had to adapt, evolving into distinctive local varieties and ecotypes. This is the case with the ‘Nocellara Etnea’ cultivar, which predominates in the area. Olive-growing has been crucial to the area’s farming sector, particularly because the olive tree’s hardiness in semi-arid environments means that it can bear fruit in volcanic soils, and partly for the influence of this crop on the economy of countryside families. There is a local tradition of referring to the oil from this area as ‘mountain oil’ in order to distinguish it from oils made in the surrounding regions. The product is sought out by consumers who, recognising its quality and organoleptic properties, pay 20-25 % above the market price for it.” This is to be replaced by: “Olive cultivation was introduced to eastern Sicily by the Phoenicians in the first millennium BC and the Greeks from the 8th century BC. The presence of an active volcano in the area fed the myth surrounding olive cultivation: the Cyclops Polyphemus, the personification of the volcano with his single fiery eye, was blinded by Odysseus and his companions using the trunk of an olive tree. Over the centuries, olive-growing took on great importance for the area’s economy. As early as the 3rd century BC, the Romans taxed the island’s oil heavily to prevent it from competing with oils from Campania and Lazio. Later, when the Arabs ruled Sicily, the crop was improved and rationalised through their ingenuity. References to the importance of ‘Etnea’ olive oil production can be found dating as far back as Pietro Bembo’s De Aetna, which refers to the quality and value of olive-growing around Mount Etna. This local production was later referred to in the works of the naturalist Lazzaro Spallanzani, the writers Antonio Stoppani, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Guy de Maupassant, and many others. On a trip to Sicily in March 1827, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote very enthusiastically about it, referring to the prosperity and abundance found in the Mount Etna area thanks to the presence of this crop and the fact that the land it was grown in was particularly fertile due to the specific properties bestowed on it by the volcano. Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Etnean olive oil was known and regarded highly by many Italian and European consumers. Considerable quantities were traded at Riposto, the port nearest to Mount Etna. The link with the area is essentially the result of the use of native cultivars – and most importantly ‘Nocellara Etnea’ – which produce an extra virgin olive oil with organoleptic characteristics that cannot be reproduced in any other soil and climate conditions. ‘Nocellara Etnea’ forms an important part of the agricultural landscape throughout much of the production area defined for the protected designation of origin ‘Monte Etna’. The existence of the other minor cultivars present in the defined area is justified both because they are pollinators of the main cultivar and as a way of diversifying supply as a second choice to ‘Nocellara Etnea’. Over time, some of these minor cultivars have experienced phenotypic change, rendering them unique and unlike anything found in adjacent areas. All of this has helped to improve biodiversity in the defined area. The geographical area is characterised by a volcanic soil substratum formed from basalt, an extrusive rock which, through centuries of erosion and leaching, combined with the emergence of spontaneous flora and microbial fauna, has transformed the surface horizons sitting on this parent material into fertile ground, with all the distinguishing features of the original bedrock. The soils are rough-textured, slightly alkaline, well aerated and highly permeable, an ideal habitat for the growth and development of olive trees. These conditions give the resulting PDO ‘Monte Etna’ oils their unique characteristics, a specific olfactory and taste profile that reflects the territory of origin in its entirety, including obvious grassy notes of artichoke and green tomato and clear notes of bitter almond, accompanied by a harmonious combination of bitterness and pungency that make the oil pleasant to the taste buds. On the slopes of Mount Etna, the difference between day and night temperatures can exceed 20-25 degrees. This, combined with the unique volcanic soil, lends a certain spiciness to ‘Monte Etna’ PDO extra virgin olive oil. Fly infestations are extremely rare in this environment and the olives have a crunchy, firm flesh. These are unique features of the local area. The oils take on certain sensory characteristics due to the climate conditions found in the Etna area. There is therefore a strong connection between the area of production and the characteristics of ‘Monte Etna’ PDO. Multiple research findings show that there are significant differences in the free fatty acid composition of ‘Monte Etna’ oil that can be traced back to its area of origin. This is also demonstrated by tests comparing ‘Monte Etna’ with oils from adjacent areas. These differences are clear enough for us to ascribe the oil’s chemical characteristics to its geographical origins. Due to the characteristics of the soil and climate, plant species have had to adapt, evolving into distinctive local varieties and ecotypes. This is the case with the ‘Nocellara Etnea’ cultivar, which predominates in the area. From a socio-economic perspective, olive-growing has always been a focus of attention and work among local farmers. Even when mixed in among other crops, the olive tree played a leading role in the farm economy. Olive-growing and its importance are constantly evolving thanks to the dedication of the great many entrepreneurs and growers who invest their resources in creating jobs and income, while at the same time contributing to the recovery and preservation of an area once destined for nothing more than impoverishment and abandonment. Combined with the influence of improved growing and processing techniques, this has meant that olive-growing in the Etna region has developed from a marginal crop grown in mixed farming systems into a specialised crop, becoming important for the region and producing an oil with excellent organoleptic and chemical characteristics, appreciated by local, national and international consumers. The olives to be used to make the ‘Monte Etna’ extra virgin olive oil must be harvested once they begin to turn from a dull green to a shiny green. Harvesting at this stage of phenological development increases the olives’ phenolic content and enhances the characteristics of ‘Monte Etna’, such as its clear and marked grassy notes, its balanced bitterness in combination with a pleasant pungency, and its low acidity and notable polyphenolic content. The entire Mount Etna area lends itself to the cultivation of olive trees, which are present throughout the area, particularly in mid-hillside lands. The last two decades have seen a major generational shift and the arrival of a significant number of new players, coming from other production and professional industries, inspired by the PDO’s widespread success to invest in the production of ‘Monte Etna’ PDO extra virgin olive oil.” There are no substantial changes to the part concerning the link, as the essential elements in the current version remain unchanged in the proposed new version. In particular, the most relevant elements of the link, such as the distinctive features of the land around Etna, the typical climate of the area and the prevalent use of the “Nocellara Etnea” cultivar, which determine the product’s specific characteristics, remain fundamental to the link between “Monte Etna” PDO and the geographical area.