Golden Fruit: A Cultural History of Oranges in Italy

Through a close reading of key texts, including poetic and spiritual writings, fairy tales, and a botanical treatise, Golden Fruit examines the role of oranges in Italian culture from their introduction during the medieval period through to the present day. Featuring a beautiful full-color spread, Cristina Mazzonis book brings together artistic depictions, literary analysis, historical context, and popular culture to investigate the changing representations of the orange over time and across the Italian peninsula.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 16 March 2018
Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Through a meticulous exploration of a diverse range of primary sources, including poetic and spiritual writings, fairy tales, and a botanical treatise, Golden Fruit delves into the profound significance of oranges in Italian culture, spanning from their introduction during the medieval period to the present day. Authored by Cristina Mazzonis, this captivating book features a stunning full-color spread, seamlessly integrating artistic depictions, literary analysis, historical context, and popular culture to investigate the evolving representations of the orange throughout time and across the Italian peninsula.

Oranges made their way to Italy in the 1200s, centuries after the beloved Mediterranean fruits such as grapes, figs, and pomegranates, which have been cherished since ancient times. At that time, oranges offered a versatile canvas for artists, writers, and scientists alike, devoid of the weight of age-old meanings and symbolism. Thus, during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, oranges emerged in visual and verbal representations as powerful tools for promoting physical and spiritual well-being, representing romantic and divine love, and symbolizing geographic allegiance to regions rich in citrus fruits. Baroque poets, botanists, and painters frequently likened oranges to women, drawing attention to their shared hybrid nature. In later folklore, oranges were portrayed from an economic perspective, as both precious and dangerous, reflecting the inherent violence associated with these fruits in Sicilian texts from the 18th and 19th centuries.

The controversial representations of the orange harvest in early twenty-first-century Italy bear a striking resemblance to the violence inherent in oranges depicted in these Sicilian texts from the 18th and 19th centuries. This reflection serves as a poignant reminder of the enduring impact of cultural traditions and narratives on the way we perceive and interpret fruits, both in terms of their symbolic meanings and their potential for representing broader social and historical contexts.

Weight: 486g
Dimension: 160 x 235 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781487502669