Stewart and I have been eating fresh plums for breakfast from the tree in our back yard in Bergamo. As most Americans won't recognize the size or shape of the fruit, it is actually a special kind of plum named Ramadi'n, originally from a small area in Piedmont.
The variety almost disappeared because the trees were difficult to raise (and the fruit not very commercially viable), but our landlord Marcello's Mom received a cutting from his uncle, from one of the few trees left, which she successfully grew into her own tree. And then she gave a cutting to Marcello, and his tree is now flourishing. Which makes the prunes even better, knowing they're a small part of the Moro family and heritage.
There are actually more than 20 different kinds of plums in Italy, each with a number of varieties.
