Limone di Rocca Imperiale (lemon)

History and origin

Lemons have been grown in Rocca Imperiale since the seventeenth century. The first exports date from between 1865 and 1870, when local traders began taking them to the fairs in Naples, and in 1877 the number of lemon trees in Rocca was exceeded only by much larger towns such as Trebisacce, Corigliano and Rossano.

From the 1950s the old citrus groves gave way to specialised orchards, still in production. The name "Limone di Rocca Imperiale" took hold through trade and transport documents, parish records and local fairs, and the lemon has long featured in the town's patron saint festivals, food fairs and cooking.

Already listed as a traditional food product, the lemon obtained Protected Geographical Indication status in 2011. The protection consortium, founded with 29 members, counted 85 by the tenth anniversary of the label, marked with a study day in the Monastery of the Frati Osservanti.

Sources: Qualigeo — Limone di Rocca Imperiale IGP · ARSAC (Regione Calabria) — I prodotti DOP, IGP e PAT della Calabria · Comune di Rocca Imperiale — Il comune in breve · ARSAC — Giornata di studio dedicata al Limone di Rocca Imperiale IGP · ARSAC — Rocca Imperiale, giornata di studio per i 10 anni del limone IGP · eAmbrosia — Limone di Rocca Imperiale (PGI-IT-0818)

Area and method of production

The production area is limited to the territory of the municipality of Rocca Imperiale, on the upper Ionian coast of Cosenza province, on the border with Basilicata. The specification describes a special microclimate: hills to the west, north and south shelter the groves from the north wind, while to the south-east the sea tempers the climate. Rainfall, about 600 millimetres a year, comes mostly in autumn and winter; in summer the trees are watered from aquifers fed by the Pollino massif.

The cultivar is Femminello, of the species Citrus limon. Pruning takes place at the end of winter, before flowering, and growing may be conventional, integrated or organic.

Thanks to the climate, lemons are picked all year round, always by hand. The work calls for experience and care so as not to damage the fruit, and is done in dry weather or once the night's dew has evaporated.

Sources: ARSAC (Regione Calabria) — I prodotti DOP, IGP e PAT della Calabria · Qualigeo — Limone di Rocca Imperiale IGP

How to recognise it

The Limone di Rocca Imperiale is elongated and medium-sized, with a peel ranging from light green to yellow. Almost seedless, it has pale yellow flesh and abundant, clear juice, neither sour nor bitter.

The peel is rich in essential oils: limonene exceeds 70 per cent of the terpene hydrocarbons, which gives the fruit its strong, intense scent. The specification requires a juice yield of at least 30 per cent and acidity below 5 per cent.

On sale it comes in Extra, First and Second categories, in crates and trays of wood, plastic or cardboard or in net bags of up to five kilos. At home it keeps in the fridge or somewhere cool and dry, ideally in a paper bag.

Sources: Qualigeo — Limone di Rocca Imperiale IGP · ARSAC (Regione Calabria) — I prodotti DOP, IGP e PAT della Calabria

In the kitchen

In the kitchen the Rocca Imperiale lemon is used whole: the juice for drinks and sauces, the grated zest over meat and fish, in first courses such as lemon spaghetti, or to flavour tea, tonic water and cocktails. Slices garnish drinks, fruit salads and fish dishes, and the Qualivita Foundation mentions cod morsels with lemon sauce.

It is widely used in desserts: creams for cakes and baked goods, such as lemon cake with lemon cream, sorbets and ice creams. The fruit is made into marmalades and preserves, and local tradition also turns it into liqueur; lemon marmalade and citrus liqueur are among Calabria's traditional food products.

ARSAC highlights the delicacy and fragrance of the juice, which also lends itself to blending with other fruit juices.

Sources: Qualigeo — Limone di Rocca Imperiale IGP · ARSAC (Regione Calabria) — I prodotti DOP, IGP e PAT della Calabria

Where to taste it

The lemon is best discovered in Rocca Imperiale, one of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy and the gateway to Calabria on the Ionian Sea. The village climbs in terraces towards the Swabian castle built by Frederick II in the thirteenth century, and walking its lanes you smell the lemons; the Marina district offers miles of beach.

Every summer, in July and August, the town devotes a series of events to the lemon, with tastings of the fruit and its products, including the Lemon Fest. The lemon also appears in the town's patron saint festivals, the most heartfelt of which honours the Madonna della Nova.

From Rocca Imperiale the Ionian coast runs down towards the Sibari plain and Corigliano-Rossano, with the Pollino mountains behind: a trip on the upper Ionian coast combining villages, sea and citrus.

Sources: Italia.it (Ministero del Turismo) — Rocca Imperiale · Qualigeo — Limone di Rocca Imperiale IGP · ARSAC (Regione Calabria) — I prodotti DOP, IGP e PAT della Calabria

Protection

• Protected geographical indication (PGI) — PGI-IT-0818 (eAmbrosia — Limone di Rocca Imperiale (PGI-IT-0818))

When

• Harvest: all year round (Qualigeo — Limone di Rocca Imperiale IGP)

Where

Calabria

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