Cherries are some of the most delicious and precious fruits and Puglia produces the largest amount of cherries in Italy. Cherry season is in late spring and early summer and Apulian cherries are some of the best quality in the world. Cherries come in all shapes, sizes and colours from shades of pink and red to purple and black. Cherries taste great and each cherry is different, whilst most are sweet, some varieties have some delightful bitterness which is what makes them so moreish!

Puglia produces such a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, there are special festivals to celebrate each one. The cherry is no different and at the beginning of June each year there is a cherry festival held in Turi, near the city of Bari. Turi is home to the most highly cultivated cherry type in Italy, it is known as the ‘railway cherry’ because the trees used to grow along the railway lines heading south to Bari. This type of cherry is known locally as l’oro rosso or red gold.  

Turi is a lovely little town of Greek origin and interestingly it was also the place where the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci was imprisoned for 11 years under Mussolini's Fascist regime, between 1926-1937. After serving most of his sentence in Turi, Gramsci died shortly after he was released. The medieval centre of Turi is really charming and is where the festival is held, there are many stands where you can taste the cherries and buy locally made cherry products. There are also musical performances, dances and songs and arts and crafts. So why not go along and sink your teeth into some delicious juicy cherries, because as the Italians say, una ciliegia tira l’altra - one cherry leads to another! 

Ferries to Puglia

You can get to the southern Italian region of Puglia by sailing into the ports of Bari and Brindisi. Just go to our website, at netferry.com to check out timetables, ticket prices and availability. 

Netferry provide you with a sea of ferries!