Turi, and the whole area around Bari, has cultivated cherries for more than a century. Soil and micro-climate is what makes them special. At the beginning of the 1900s, the vast majority of cherries produced in Turi and in other areas of Puglia was sulfurized and sold on the northern Italian and international markets.

The cherries from Turi were of different cultivars: molfettese, ruvo, testa di siepe, francia, San Nicola, limone, zuccaro, montagnola, napoletana, masciarola. Puglia’s cherry production mostly served the preserves industry, and was used to make jams, candied fruits and syrups.