Carote di Polignano is a traditional carrot variety originating from the Polignano area in the province of Bari. These carrots range in color from pale yellow over deep orange to dark purple. The seeds are selected by the growers who plant them in small plots and choose the best plants.

The carrots are replanted between August 15 and September 15, while the harvest takes place from the first week of November until early May. The flavors of these carrots are extraordinary due to the sandy fields with high salinity in which they are grown.

This purple carrot with yellow stripes has been cultivated around the city of Tiggiano since ancient times, and it is still very popular thanks to its juicy, crunchy texture and fragrant flavor. Sometimes called pestanaca or carota di sant'Ippazio (named after the patron saint of Tiggiano), it is a pretty sensitive variety that requires particularly rich soil with high phosphate content, fertilization, and irrigation twice a day.

It should be hand-picked to avoid unnecessary damage, then consumed in a day or two because it loses its turgidity very quickly. Carota giallo-viola is a key ingredient in many local specialties such as ravioli with pestanaca or pestanaca cake, and the best opportunity to try all those delicacies is during the annual Festival of pestanaca, held every January in Tiggano.

In the Italian province of L'Aquila, the cultivation of Altopiano del Fucino carrots began in the 1950s. The Fucino basin is nestled between the high Apennine peaks, at an altitude of 700m, and it seems almost unreal that this huge plateau used to be covered with water.

However, having no natural outflow and repeatedly flooding the surrounding arable land, the once third largest lake in Italy was drained in 1878. Today, Fucino is a fertile valley planted with vegetables thriving in the humus-rich soil. Formed from the organic matter found at the bottom of the lake, this soil is exactly what gives the vitamin and protein packed Fucino carrots their distinctively sweet flavor. 

The cultivation of Carota Novella di Ispica began in the 1950s in Syracuse, but later the production spread to the neighboring province of Ragusa, particularly around the town of Ispica, where this variety of carrots is grown even today.

They are obtained by cultivating the Daucus carota subspecies Sativus Arcangeli, while the varieties used are derived from the Nantes semi-long carrot group and their hybrids. The Ispica carrots ripen quite early and reach their full market maturity from as early as the end of February up to the beginning of June.

Because of its delicate flavor, and a fresh herbal aroma, Carota Novella di Ispica is best enjoyed raw, in salads or various crudité platters, but it is widely used in cooking as well.