It is not easy with her. This fruit wants to be conquered. Simply eating and enjoying it? She won't make it that and protects itself with a hard and spiny skin. But it's worth the effort because you will be sweetly rewarded. 

The "Fici d'India" characterize the image of the entire island and are a treasure on the roadside: cacti in all shapes and sizesalson the Sicilian roadside seem to be competing for the driver's attention.

But it is not just a symbol of the landscape: Sicily is home to 90% of the European prickly pear production¹. In San Cono, the cultivation area has been protected with the coveted D.O.P. seal² and proves: the hinterland of Sicily offers spectacular landscapes and fertile land! The Siciliani have been turning their back on the center of Sicily for decades, leaving nothing but deserted villages.

So it's no surprise that the symbol of the spiny fruit from San Cono is a prickly pear adorned with a crown. Certo, because the producers from San Cono have big plans: with its health-promoting properties, it wants to become "the next avocado".

Long live the prickly pear!

Source:

¹ https://www.pressetext.com/news/20180622016

² https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2012:150:0009:0012:DE:PDF