Glera is believed to be an old variety, and the name Prosecco was derived from the village Prosecco near Trieste, where the grape may have originated.^[5] It has been proposed that it was cultivated already in Roman times,^[6] possibly as the vinum pucinum praised by Pliny the Elder, although that is not known with any certainty. It ranks about thirtieth in importance among the country's some 2,000 grape varieties.^[7]