Sicilian cherries from Chiusa Sclafani carry the day at the 25th Ciliegie d'Italia national competition

After ricotta, Chiusa Sclafani cherries land on the podium of Italian agri-food excellences. Chiusa Sclafani's drupes took the first four places in the twenty-fifth national ‘Cherry of Italy’ competition. The best ‘Ciliegia d'Italia 2024’ overall is that of the Caronia/Vellino company with 469 votes, in second place Rosanna Gullo with 460 votes, in third place Vincenzo Pollichino with 450 votes and in fourth place Giuseppina Mendola with 449 votes, all from Chiusa Sclafani.

The event that sanctioned the victory of the Chiusa Sclafani cherry was held in Raiano, in the Peligna Valley, in the heart of the Abruzzo region, in conjunction with the feast of San Venanzio, the patron saint of the town that honours the fruit that is the symbol of the Raiano community. The Sagra delle Ciliegie di Raiano (Raiano Cherry Festival), also known as Maggiolata, has been enriched over the years thanks to the food fair and the wine competition.

This year, the programme also includes the awarding of the 1st Amateur Ratafià Competition.

‘That the Chiusa Sclafani cherry is the most extraordinary in Italy we have always known,’' says Angelo Vellino, a historic producer from the Sicanian town, “”this is the result achieved thanks to the great commitment, professionalism and sacrifices of all the producers.

For the mayor Francesco Di Giorgio: ‘The award won makes us proud and happy both for the effort that the administration dedicates to local production on a daily basis, and for the entrepreneurs from Chiusi who, with sacrifices, manage to produce these excellences. Success must also be acknowledged to the other companies that won second, third and fourth place.

‘Chiusa Sclafani is preparing to celebrate the 55th edition of the “Sagra delle Ciliegie” (Cherry Festival), which will be held on Sunday 16 June 2024, these honours will help attract the many gourmets from the entire Sicilian territory.

During the festival, it will be possible to taste, in addition to cherries, cheeses, the best ricotta cheese in Italy (2023), but also three other delicacies of local gastronomy: cannoli, mentioned in the Guida di Repubblica, the Ranza e Ciura, a layered pastry enriched with marjoram, anchovies and extra virgin olive oil, the pride of the Sicani, and Tabisca, seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, another local delicacy, with anchovies and mountain oregano.

Thanks to its special microclimate, the area around Chiusi is one of the preferred areas for this crop. With a production of around 400 tonnes, the cherry constitutes a valuable product for the Chiusi community. Evidence of the presence of cherry cultivation in the territory of Chiusi, thanks to some legacies left in favour of the Monastery of Santa Maria del Bosco, dates back to the mid-1500s.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Palermo doctor Giuseppe Pitrè, describing the feast of the Holy Crucifix of Chiusa Sclafani, reported that ... ‘in the same village, really tasty cherries are cultivated, which are eaten during the feast period’. During the Fascist period, a song became famous, now shyly fixed in the memories of the elderly, which, listing the riches of the towns in the Sicani mountains, praised ‘a Chiusa pi cirasi boni’.

The people of Chiusa, however, have long had the name, given to them by the inhabitants of neighbouring towns, of ‘cirasara’.

At the end of the 1960s, the real consecration of the cherry took place, with the establishment of the festival by the local Pro-loco. From that year on, there has been a succession of initiatives that have allowed the small drupe to become known and appreciated throughout Sicily.

Thanks to Agenda 2000 ‘productive forestation’ funding, other self-fertile varieties have been introduced into the area in recent years. Among these, Ferrovia, Frisco, Celeste, Van, Stella, and Sweet heart have found ideal conditions. The real Chiusa cherries remain the local ecotypes: the cappuccia, white and Russian muscatedda and the caddusa, with their incomparable flavour.

Much of the production is organically grown. The aim of the local administrators is to establish an association of producers and then apply for recognition as a protected geographical indication (PDO).

Source: Mario Liberto, Sicilia Agricoltura
Image: SL Fruit Service

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