The Land Where Lemons Grow

Posted on 11 May 2018 by Helena Attlee

The Land Where Lemons Grow uses the colourful past of six different kinds of Italian citrus to tell an unexpected history of Italy, from the arrival of citrons in 2nd century Calabria, through Arab domination of Sicily in the 9th century, to slow food and cutting edge genetic research in the 21st Along the way Helena Attlee traces the uses of citrus essential oils in the perfume industry and describes the extraction of precious bergamot oil the history of marmalade and its production in Sicily the extraordinary harvest of Diamante citrons by Jewish citron merchants in Calabria the primitive violence of the Battle of Oranges, when the streets in Ivrea run with juice She reveals the earliest manifestations of the Mafia among the lemon gardens outside Palermo, and traces the ongoing links between organised crime and the citrus industry By combining insight into the country s cultural, political and economic history with travel writing, horticulture and art, Helena Atlee gives the reader a unique view of Italy.Helena Attlee is the author of four books about Italian gardens, and others on the cultural history of gardens around the world Helena is a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund and has worked in Italy for nearly 30 years. Free Read [ The Land Where Lemons Grow ] By [ Helena Attlee ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr The product of several years investigation into the story of Italy and its citrus fruit , Helena Attlee has written a book that is a perfect combination of food and travel Sour oranges, citrons, esrogim, tangelos, tangerines, mandarins, satsumas, grapefruit, lemons the list is a long one The Sicilian mafia has its roots no pun intended in the citrus trade which has been a staple of Italy s economy for hundreds of years There are some products, eg esrogim, which can only be grown success The product of several years investigation into the story of Italy and its citrus fruit , Helena Attlee has written a book that is a perfect combination of food and travel Sour oranges, citrons, esrogim, tangelos, tangerines, mandarins, satsumas, grapefruit, lemons the list is a long one The Sicilian mafia has its roots no pun intended in the citrus trade which has been a staple of Italy s economy for hundreds of years There are some ...I started reading this during a vacation in Tuscany last month Attlee, a garden historian, does a great job of blending travel, science, and history and she even includes some recipes, too Here are a few of the fascinating and unexpected things I learned about citrus fruit Lemons originated in the Himalayan foothills all oranges come from Assam or Burma research suggests China may be another source Blood oranges get their color from anthocyanins, which can only develop where there is a I started rea...I started the book looking forward to travel narrative there was some, though the focus ison the history of lemons in the Mediterranean region well presented, never bogged down in detail or at least rarely, as I have a bit of a short attention span at times Author starts with the big picture of citrus in Italy in general, saving the best chapters for later a discussion of chinotto used for the liqueur Campari, as well as citron that s harvested by Orthodox ...These days lemons are a part of our culinary lives, but there was a time not long ago when these were seen as exotic fruit People would return from Italy on holiday in the 1950 s with tales of trees laden with fruit, inhaling the heady aroma that the fruit gives.And it is to Italy that Atlee takes us From the Sicilian terraces full of mandarins and blood oranges, to the Southern Italian groves full of the huge citron and bergamonts She visits the perfumed gardens of Liguria to see their parti These days lemons are a part of our culinary lives, but there was a time not long ago when these were seen as exotic fruit People would return from Italy on holiday in the 1950 s with tales of trees laden with fruit, inhaling the heady aroma that the fruit gives.And it is to Italy that Atlee takes us From the Sicilian terraces full of mandarins and blood oranges, to the Southern Italian groves full of the huge citron and bergamonts She visits the perfumed gardens of Liguria to see their particularly sour chinotti and w... From BBC radio 4 Book of the Week Mixing travel writing, history and horticulture, Helena Attlee takes a celebratory journey through Italy, exploring why citrus holds a special place in the Italian imagination.view spoiler Bettie s Books hide spoilerI was sent this as a first read copy I really wanted to like this book and obviously someone who knows muchabout books and writing, decided this book was worth publishing so this is just my little honest opinion I have read National Geographics since I was a child I have never meet a subject in which I couldn t become somewhat interested.The books explains the story of lemons in Italian history as she travels though Italy The cover is beautiful I m assuming it s of an Italian painting I was sent this as a first read copy I really wanted to like this book and obviously someone who knows muchabout books and writing, decided this book was worth publishing so this is just my little honest opinion I have read National Geographics since I was a child I have never meet a subject in which I couldn t become somewhat interested.The books explains the story of lemons in Italian history as she travels though Italy The cover is beautiful I m assuming it s of an Italian painting I searched for the artwork credits but could not find any She is very passionate about lemons, culture and history She is well researched which shows in her writing but she suffers from what I call the science syndrome in writing She s a researcher first then a writer There for the research becomes muchimportant than the story She fla...Lo esperaba desde que le las cr ticas cuando apareci en Gran Breta a y, si bien el cultivo de c tricos no era algo que me produjera mucha curiosidad, el s lo hecho de prometer una nueva mirada sobre Italia me lo hizo deseable Y ahora...this book is so good i wish i could take away one star from all the books i have rated 5 stars and leave this one only with the top mark so interesting and catching incredibleThis book contained some very interesting information, but, unfortunately, it really lacked in organization I would have expected it to have some sort of overall organization, such as chronological or moving north to south in Italy Instead it was just a mashup of stories, both historical and contemporary, and information and this made it very difficult for me to process everything.The book also would have benefited greatly from a few color photos I guess one is expected to use the internet wh This book contained some very interesting information, but, unfortunately, it really lacked in organization I would have expected it to have some sort of overall organization, such as chronological or moving north to south in Italy Instead it was just a mashup of stories, both historical and contemporary, and information and this made it very difficult for me to process everything.The book also would have benefited greatly from a few color photos I guess one is...

English
11 May 2018

Helena Attlee