L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano e s p e c i a l l y t h e i r t e x t u r e . After another four years, t h e i r y o u n g c h e r r y t r e e c o u l d p r o d u c e a l o t o f f r u i t s a n d , o n e d a y i n J u n e , t h e t w o f a r m e r s finally filled a whole bas- k e t w i t h b e a u t i f u l , r e d c h e r r i e s . T o m a k e s u r e t h e i r b e a u t y d i d n ' t g e t spoiled, they placed them carefully on a bed of hay and then brought them to t h e l o c a l m a r k e t t o s e l l them. In those times, the cherry market was held in Turi's Piazza San Giovanni 'sobbe o trèppizze.' " O n c e i n t h e s q u a r e , they met a villager, some Vito Simone, the head of all porters in Turi and a t r a d e r o f c h e r r i e s , almonds and olives. When he saw the cherries Arrè a n d D i V e n e r e h a d o n their cart he said 'Matteo c ' è g e r è s e p ù u r t e s ò b b e o t r a ì n e , ' what cherries are those on your c a r t ? A n d M a t t e o , a t a d lost for words, answered ' V i t o g e r è s e s ò n d e , ' V i t o , c h e r r i e s t h e y a r e ! That's when Vito Simone t r i e d a c o u p l e a n d s a i d 'This is a good cherry and it's strong! Matteo, these cherries are perfect to be transported by rail." W o r d s o f F r a n c o Giannini, born in 1931, farmer from Turi "I can confirm Giovanni Cazzetta's story entirely. association) . One day, I w e n t t o M a t t e o D i V e n e r e ' s f a r m w i t h a young collaborator, Vito Orlando. There, according to Tommaso Arrè, a local grafter, was the first fer- rovia cherries tree. It was an old tree that grew from a small mound of stones. I r e m e m b e r t h a t m a n y f a r m e r s f r o m T u r i h a d been asking Di Venere's son for the tree's slips to graft. That day, we took some pictures, had some enlarged, and put one on t h e w a l l o f o u r o f f i c e . Since the 1960s, the fer- rovia variety became com- mon in all nearby villages, and popular across nation- al and international mar- kets." There are plenty more stories about the ferrovia cherry, but none of them is officially documented. Parochialisms aside, it's easy to see, in these two farmers' tales, an impor- tant side of our territory, a sincere, direct narrative. It i s a l s o i m p o r t a n t t o r e m e m b e r t h a t , a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e ' 5 0 s , some farmers from Turi would bring ferrovia cher- r y s l i p s t o o t h e r t o w n s ' A r o u n d t h e e n d o f t h e 1970s, I was the president o f T u r i ' s s e c t i o n o f Coltivatori Diretti (Italy's s e l f - e m p l o y e d f a r m e r s ' markets to sell for graft- ing. A branch with 15 buds would sell for 50 liras. But i t i s a l s o t h a n k s t o t h a t picture taken in the 1970s t h a t t h e h i s t o r y o f t h i s extraordinary local cherry variety, born by chance in Turi, became richer. T h e f e r r o v i a c h e r r y , with its unmistakable fla- vor, its beauty and its size that goes from 28 to 30 m m ( o v e r o n e i n c h i n d i a m e t e r ) , r e m a i n e d a n elite cultivar throughout t h e d e c a d e s , a n d i t i s a n a m e t o d a y c l o n e d a n d i n a p p r o p r i a t e l y u s e d across Italy. N o w a d a y s , 3 , 8 0 0 hectares of land around Turi are cherry orchards: each year, they produce an average of 10,000 tons of cherries. The Turi's fer- rovia cherry can be found both in Italy and abroad and is considered a high- q u a l i t y p r o d u c t e v e r y - where. When it comes to cherries, it can truly be d e f i n e d t h e " Q u e e n o f Queens." Farmers in their cherry orchards in Turi, Puglia (Photo by Mariarosaria Venere) A detail of a traditional cart to transport cherries (Photo by Mariarosaria Venere) Turi, and the whole area around Bari, has cultivated cherries for more than a century. Soil and micro-climate is what makes them special LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Continued from page 20

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