This apple is medium-small, flattish or rounded with a streaked red skin and a peculiar rusty area where the stalk is. The flesh is juicy, firm, crispy, sweet, pleasantly acidulous and fragrant with an excellent flavour. It can come as no surprise that the Annurca is defined as the "queen of apples" for its many qualities. It is only found in Campania, in fact, it is an authentic and eiwrlasting symbol of regional apple farming and continues to be, now as in the past, its jewel in the crown. It is an ancient variety of apple and can even be recognised in some Pompeiian frescoes at the Casa dei Cervi in Herculaneum.

The original area of this tasty fruit is the Piiteolane countryside, which used to be famous for its fertility. It is precisely the fact that it comes from Pozzuoli, once said to be where Hell was situated, that Pliny the Elder, the great Roman naturalist from the first century AD, called this apple "Mala Orcula", because it was produced around the "Orco" (the hereafter). From here the names "anorcola" and "annorcola" were subsequently used for local apples until 1876, when the name "annurca" appeared officially for the first time. The Annurca is cultivated in all the provinces of Campania, although there are particularly suitable traditional areas where most of the production is concentrated: the Giuglianese-Flegrea (in the province of Navies), the Maddalonese, the Aversana and the Teanese (in the province of Caserta), the Caudma-Telesina Valleys and the Tabiirno (in the province of Benevento). The Annurca forms about 60% of regional and 5% of national apple production, with an average of 60,000 tonnes of produce per year, and is harvested in October. What makes this apple special, apart from its ancient tradition, are the specific techniques used to produce it. One of the aspects that more than anything enhances the typicalness of this "queen of apples" is the way the apples are left on the ground in the apple field to redden. The Annurca is mostly green when harvested and its characteristic red colour is the result of the sun s rays and the able liands that periodically turn the apples laid out on specially prepared terrain, exposing the green part of the fruit to the sun little by little. This treatment can last from 20-50 days. In ancient times the Annurca apples were arranged on "cannutoli", layers of hemp, that now have been replaced with other materials such as pine needles or, more often, wood shavings. The apple fields are also protected with anti-hailstone nets which also provide shade, to protect the fruit from direct sunliglit that would damage it irreversibly. The organofeptic quality of this apple, that can legitimately be considered organic in every respect, has so far been particularly appreciated by consumers in Campania and Lazio, and is gradually conquering other markets, thanks to its entrance into large-scale retail trade. The two ecotypes, the classic Annurca and its direct descendant the Southern Red Annurca, its natural mutant given the pomological characteristics they have in common, have been unified under the title of Melannurca Campana IGP (Campania Annurca Apple), for which we are awaiting final registration with the EU, albeit with two distinct varietal indications. The Annurca is good as well as healthy, being rich in interesting dietetic and nutritional qualities: a veritable concentration of vitamins, organic acids and mineral elements, especially potassium and magnesium to help the organism function properly. There are many ways to eat this delicious fruit, as the main ingredient for ice creams, cakes and liqueurs.