The fig is probably the first tree cultivated by man and its origins come from Asia Minor. The Greeks and the Romans have since spread it throughout the Mediterranean basin.
In Bellegra, for centuries, the fig has had great importance because it was produced locally and used for trade with the neighbouring populations until the middle of 20th century.
From the 40s-50s of the twentieth century, marketing began of the fresh fruit from the fig tree variety called 'fallacciano'. In the '70s the first Fallacciano Festival was born.
The tree is medium in size and can reach 8-10 meters in height. The Fallacciano plant (Ficus Carica Sativa) is a female plant and the wild fig (Ficus carica caprificus) is the male. Fertilization of the fig trees is performed by a wasp called 'blastophaga psenes' – a co-evolutionary process that is maybe 80 million years old.
The fruits of Fallacciano Fig Tree of Bellegra are of two types: the 'fioroni', called fallacciani, are produced on the branches at two years age while the 'forniti' are produced on the branches growing in that year.
The maturation of the fruit lasts about three weeks from the second ten days of July. The forniti are smaller and are intended for feeding pigs.
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