Schiacciate means split (or squashed) in Italian. Taking the effort to split the olives and remove the stone means that the bitter component of the olive will leach out in the changes of water needed more quickly. If you find that your 'smashing' technique isn't releasing the stone, don't panic. Just soak the olives (with the stones) and after the 3rd day, you can go through the olives again and manually take the stones out with your hands. They will come off more easily then.
SPLIT AND CURED CALABRIAN STYLE
