APULICA / FRUIT, VEGETABLES AND PULSES
Ciliegia di Bracigliano (cherry)
PGI · Fruit, vegetables and pulses · Campania
In brief
- Sweet cherries of local and other cultivars, such as Spernocchia, Sciazza, Pagliaccia and Don Carmelo, with dark red skin. (Qualigeo — Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP)
- They are grown in fourteen hill municipalities in the provinces of Salerno and Avellino, including Bracigliano, Siano and Montoro. (Qualigeo — Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP · Regione Campania — Disciplinare di produzione Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP (GU n. 37 del 14-02-2023))
- They are picked by hand only, in stages, from the first ten days of May to the last ten days of July. (Regione Campania — Disciplinare di produzione Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP (GU n. 37 del 14-02-2023))
History and origin
Cherry growing around Bracigliano has ancient origins. The earliest records are notarial deeds from 1556, showing how much the cherry harvest and trade counted in the village economy; by 1714 another deed already attests intensive cherry cultivation.
During the twentieth century the reputation of the Bracigliano cherry grew stronger, as shown by advertising material, documents and accounts. In his Storia di Bracigliano, published in 1980, the Franciscan friar Teofilo M. Giordano records the spread of these cherries and many of the varieties now listed in the specification. In the Irno valley, from the middle of the last century, cherry trees almost entirely replaced vineyards.
The area is still called the Land of Cherries. The Protected Geographical Indication was registered in early 2023, with the specification published in Italy's Official Gazette in February of that year.
Sources: Qualigeo — Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP · Regione Campania — Disciplinare di produzione Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP (GU n. 37 del 14-02-2023) · Regione Campania — Prodotti tipici: Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP
Area and method of production
The area includes fourteen municipalities: Baronissi, Bracigliano, Calvanico, Castel San Giorgio, Cava de' Tirreni, Fisciano, Mercato San Severino, Pellezzano, Roccapiemonte and Siano in the province of Salerno; Contrada, Forino, Montoro and Moschiano in the province of Avellino. It is hilly land with early springs, warm summers and mild winters, on alluvial soils often rich in volcanic material.
The permitted cultivars are Spernocchia, Sciazza, Pagliaccia, Don Carmelo, Silvestre, Bigarreau Burlat, Baron Picella, Palermitana and Principe. The trees, often very tall, are grown in specialised or mixed orchards.
Picking is by hand only, with the stalk on, in stages from the first ten days of May to the last ten days of July. Cherries are sorted on the farm and must be sold within 48 hours or kept in refrigerated rooms. The higher orchards keep them on the market until the end of August.
Sources: Qualigeo — Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP · Regione Campania — Disciplinare di produzione Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP (GU n. 37 del 14-02-2023)
How to recognise it
Ciliegia di Bracigliano is heart-shaped, elongated or flattened, with a glossy skin ranging from dark red to amaranth. The flesh runs from bright to deep red, firm, crunchy and juicy, and partly clings to the stone.
The fruit is medium to large, with a minimum size of 20 millimetres; the taste is sweet and slightly tart, delicate, with a fruity aroma. The hilly volcanic setting gives it particularly firm flesh, and its high sugar content makes it very sweet.
Among the local varieties, the Sciazza of Siano has pearly, glossy black fruit, while the Pagliaccia ripens around June and has large, purple-red cherries with very firm flesh.
Sources: Regione Campania — Prodotti tipici: Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP · Qualigeo — Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP · Regione Campania — Prodotti tradizionali: Ciliegia di Siano
In the kitchen
It is eaten mostly fresh, but also goes into desserts and jams. It is well suited to preserving in spirits and is often used in cocktails.
Local pastry-making shows it off in traditional sweets: the specification mentions the Zizzinella, made with buffalo ricotta, hazelnuts and Bracigliano cherries preserved in spirits.
It pairs well with fresh buffalo cheeses such as Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO, and with the area's dessert wines, such as Colli di Salerno IGP Passito Rosso or Costa d'Amalfi DOP Passito Rosso. It keeps in the fridge for a few days, once damaged fruit has been removed. To enjoy it fresh, look for it between May and July, while the harvest is under way.
Sources: Qualigeo — Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP · Regione Campania — Disciplinare di produzione Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP (GU n. 37 del 14-02-2023)
Where to taste it
The season runs from May to July, with June at the heart of the harvest, in the villages of the Irno valley and the hills between Salerno and Avellino, from Bracigliano and Siano to Montoro.
The festivals tell this bond well: the Festa della Ciliegia di Bracigliano has been held every year since 1999, and Siano has hosted a parallel event since 1997. In 2009 Bracigliano also hosted the national festival of the Città delle Ciliegie association. Montoro, too, counts a Festa della Ciliegia among its events.
Cava de' Tirreni is among the production villages, and Costa d'Amalfi Passito Rosso is among the suggested wine pairings: an invitation to link, on an early-summer trip, the cherry hills with the Amalfi Coast.
Sources: Regione Campania — Disciplinare di produzione Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP (GU n. 37 del 14-02-2023) · Sistema Irpinia (Provincia di Avellino) — Montoro · Qualigeo — Ciliegia di Bracigliano IGP
Protection
- Protected geographical indication (PGI) — PGI-IT-02766 (eAmbrosia — Ciliegia di Bracigliano (PGI-IT-02766))