ALMONDS, TURI'S GOLD

The almond tree, originally from Asia, reached Apulia around 2,000 years ago through the Mediterranean trade routes of the Phoenicians and the Greeks. In Tarentum, one of the key cities of Magna Graecia, almonds were already being consumed in the form known as “meddèsche”—soft-shelled almonds, easy to eat and appreciated even then for their nutritional properties.

Over time, the Apulian landscape proved particularly well suited to the cultivation of this strong and resilient tree, capable of thriving even in the arid soils of the Murge area. The province of Bari, and Turi in particular, has become an important centre for almond production, with Apulian almonds renowned worldwide for their outstanding quality.

Today, Apulia counts approximately 19,000 hectares of almond groves, of which about 150 hectares are cultivated in the countryside around Turi. Local cultivars include Tuono, Mosetta, Filippo Cea, Genco, and Caputo. In the south-eastern Bari area, the green hull typically splits open towards the end of August, and harvesting is completed before the start of the grape harvest.

In the past, almonds were harvested using walnut sticks to beat the branches and sheets laid on the ground to collect the fruit, which was then stored in jute sacks for transport. The manual removal of the hulls was a highly symbolic and deeply rooted moment of the year, involving entire families, often joined in turn by neighbouring households who reciprocated the help. These were times of shared labour and conversation. The removed hulls were reused as natural fertiliser.

This was followed by the drying phase, a particularly picturesque sight: vast golden expanses of almonds kissed by the September sun, laid out on sheets along wide pavements or any flat surface available, while the owner spread them evenly with a rake to ensure proper drying. This process was repeated daily until the inner kernel detached from the shell. Once fully dried, the almonds were stored in attics, cellars, or other dry spaces until they were sold or used.

Throughout history, almonds have not only been consumed as dried fruit—valued for their high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, folic acid, and vitamin E—but have also been used in medicine and pharmacopoeia, as well as in the production of oils, perfumes, and ointments.

In Turi, thanks to the presence of convents and monasteries that owned almond-growing land, a culinary tradition linked to almonds has also been handed down, particularly in the making of almond-based sweets. Today, local confectioners continue this legacy and are well known in the surrounding area for producing 16 different varieties of fine almond pastries, among which the Faldacchea di Turi stands out—the undisputed queen of Turi’s traditional sweets—made exclusively with almonds grown in the Terra di Bari.