Tourist signposts at the entrance to the village proudly announce the tradition for cherry-growing in certain areas of Piedmont.
And indeed part of the economy of the village of Revigliasco d’Asti is still based on this fruit, imported from Asia minor.
What is not so well known is that cherries were a fall-back, an alternative option in the years when phylloxera was decimating the vineyards and putting wine production at risk.
Nearby Turin, where there were many middle class families with a taste for fruit in syrup, was a profitable market, and this encouraged many farmers to plant cherry trees, trusting in the particular microclimate of the hills which had proved to be so suitable for this crop.
Little by little the growers began to develop the specialities and define the classic Piedmontese varieties, which were much sweeter than wild cherries, and many recently-imported hybrids.
The robust Graffione Bianco, for example, a traditional variety of the Asti area, with its light-coloured skin and red flesh, is sweet, juicy and highly aromatic. Another similar variety, but redder and shinier, is the Galucio, while the Vittona is fleshier and more delicate. The Vignola (soft flesh, almost black in colour, excellent for jam-making) is one of the many early-ripening varieties, as are Martini, Burlat and Bigarreau.
Then there are Amarene and Visciole, the bright coloured, juicy cherries with a bitterish, tart flavour, that are used to make Ratafià, a traditional Vercelli liqueur which is still distilled by the same family.
Apart from this historic liqueur, cherries are consumed fresh or used to make jam, or candied or preserved in syrup to be used as a decoration for cakes, icecream and pastries.