Regina di Castello is a new Slow Food Presidium in Campania – PugliaLive – Online information newspaper
It comes from the slopes of the Lattari Mountains, a pre-Apennine area where stable meadows give unique aromas to dairy products. There Somma dei Monti Lattari cherry is a new Slow Food Presidium, the latest established in chronological order and number 44 in Campania. An ancient and delicious fruit, made unmistakable by its red color flecked with a touch of white.
Fruit of his terroir Large, firm and juicy, this cherry is particularly linked to the territory in which it grows. We are in the agricultural areas of Gragnano and Pimonte, in the province of Naples, on the hills close to the Lattari Mountains, where some historical documents attest to the cultivation of cherries already at the beginning of the 1600s. Here “the volcanic origin of the land contributes to the fertility of the soil and gives particular organoleptic characteristics to the cultivated products” he explains Simone Lucchisani, head of the newborn Presidio. If the lower area of Gragnano is traditionally dedicated to the production of pasta, the hilly area close to the mountains has always been appreciated for its fruit and vegetable production and for cherries, which in particular in the medieval village of Castello, the historical cultivation area , find the perfect exposure, mild but breezy.
A peculiar microclimate «due to the fact that the area where the cherries are grown receives very little light for six months of the year. From April onwards, however, it gets as much sun as possible, from dawn to dusk” says the farmer Francesco Scala. Together with his father Ciro, representative of the Presidium producers, he is one of the four members of the project which aims to encourage generational turnover among local farmers. Known and appreciated throughout the region, particularly in Naples and on the Amalfi coast, the cherry from the Lattari Mountains it risked disappearing especially in the 1980s of the last century, when improved varieties of cherries from Turkey replaced local production, which was also reduced due to the depopulation of inland areas.
There are few specialized cherry orchards, present in mixed and traditional sections. The historic ones are characterized by tall stems, for which long wooden ladders were once used. «Some trees are more than sixty years old – continues Scala – and exceed 15 meters in height. It’s a problem for collection, because no one is specialized in doing it anymore.” A knowledge that, like the product itself, the local community wants to protect thanks to the Presidium, supported by the Municipality of Gragnano.
A “bagged” cherry Unique and unmistakable it is too the tradition of “bagging” cherries, that is, to arrange them in a pyramid to keep them longer. If the dimensions have changed over the years – once they were made up of large piles, today there are 4-5 kilo boxes or trays – the art of detaching the peduncles of each cherry, by hand and with care, before arranging the fruits remains unchanged.
The cherries arranged in this way have always been sold on the road to the sea, towards Castellamare di Stabia: «they are unmistakable. Once you taste them you don’t forget them” he says Sabato Abagnale, president of Slow Food Monti Lattari Costa d’Amalfi. The local Slow Food group was among the promoters of the relaunch of the cherry and today hopes that the Presidium «can contribute to promoting the area and opening it up to new tourist developments, also aiming to network with local restaurateurs and pastry chefs», concludes Abagnale. The Somma cherry, delicious fresh but easily perishable, is in fact traditionally transformed into jams. The cherry harvest goes from the third decade of May to the beginning of July. The first appointment for the new Presidium is the annual festivalscheduled from 14 to 16 June in the village of Castello.
Fruit of his terroir Large, firm and juicy, this cherry is particularly linked to the territory in which it grows. We are in the agricultural areas of Gragnano and Pimonte, in the province of Naples, on the hills close to the Lattari Mountains, where some historical documents attest to the cultivation of cherries already at the beginning of the 1600s. Here “the volcanic origin of the land contributes to the fertility of the soil and gives particular organoleptic characteristics to the cultivated products” he explains Simone Lucchisani, head of the newborn Presidio. If the lower area of Gragnano is traditionally dedicated to the production of pasta, the hilly area close to the mountains has always been appreciated for its fruit and vegetable production and for cherries, which in particular in the medieval village of Castello, the historical cultivation area , find the perfect exposure, mild but breezy.
A peculiar microclimate «due to the fact that the area where the cherries are grown receives very little light for six months of the year. From April onwards, however, it gets as much sun as possible, from dawn to dusk” says the farmer Francesco Scala. Together with his father Ciro, representative of the Presidium producers, he is one of the four members of the project which aims to encourage generational turnover among local farmers. Known and appreciated throughout the region, particularly in Naples and on the Amalfi coast, the cherry from the Lattari Mountains it risked disappearing especially in the 1980s of the last century, when improved varieties of cherries from Turkey replaced local production, which was also reduced due to the depopulation of inland areas.
There are few specialized cherry orchards, present in mixed and traditional sections. The historic ones are characterized by tall stems, for which long wooden ladders were once used. «Some trees are more than sixty years old – continues Scala – and exceed 15 meters in height. It’s a problem for collection, because no one is specialized in doing it anymore.” A knowledge that, like the product itself, the local community wants to protect thanks to the Presidium, supported by the Municipality of Gragnano.
A “bagged” cherry Unique and unmistakable it is too the tradition of “bagging” cherries, that is, to arrange them in a pyramid to keep them longer. If the dimensions have changed over the years – once they were made up of large piles, today there are 4-5 kilo boxes or trays – the art of detaching the peduncles of each cherry, by hand and with care, before arranging the fruits remains unchanged.
The cherries arranged in this way have always been sold on the road to the sea, towards Castellamare di Stabia: «they are unmistakable. Once you taste them you don’t forget them” he says Sabato Abagnale, president of Slow Food Monti Lattari Costa d’Amalfi. The local Slow Food group was among the promoters of the relaunch of the cherry and today hopes that the Presidium «can contribute to promoting the area and opening it up to new tourist developments, also aiming to network with local restaurateurs and pastry chefs», concludes Abagnale. The Somma cherry, delicious fresh but easily perishable, is in fact traditionally transformed into jams. The cherry harvest goes from the third decade of May to the beginning of July. The first appointment for the new Presidium is the annual festivalscheduled from 14 to 16 June in the village of Castello.
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