Pera Signora della Valle del Sinni

Pears have been grown in the Metapontino since at least the 18th century and are written of in the 19th, and they made the look of this hill country: farmers grafted wild pears along the edges of the cereal fields, onto whichever ecotype, and the crop fed the household and the animals. The local sorts, Muscarelle, Muone, Lardere, Sciesciuu, Granete, San Giuvan, are all worth eating, and until the 1950s some went through middlemen as far as Naples. The best and the most widespread in the Sinni valley was the Signora, delicate in scent and texture and best eaten the moment it is ready.