The Galàtone apricot is an early variety with walnut-sized fruit. Its color ranges from pale yellow to light pink, with small darker streaks near the stalk. It has a strikingly intense scent and sweetness and tends to dissolve quickly in the mouth. The trees are quite long-lived and fruit even after 50 years. Older people remember them as one of the highlights of Salentino’s agriculture, before the area began preferring more productive modern varieties. One legend attributes the introduction of this variety to the Templars, who were particularly present around Lecce and Otranto.
Despite its high quality, this ancient variety of arnacocca, as apricots are called in the local dialect, has been almost completely abandoned because of its low yields. A few small orchards, no more than a few dozen trees, can still be found spread around the Salento area near Lecce.
Students of the Gastronomic Sciences at Pollenzo are collaborating with Slow Food to fill the Ark.