APULICA / FRUIT, VEGETABLES AND PULSES
Limone di Sorrento (Sorrento lemon)
PGI · Fruit, vegetables and pulses · Campania
In brief
- It is the fresh lemon of the Ovale di Sorrento ecotype, also known as the Massa Lubrense lemon. (Qualigeo — Limone di Sorrento IGP)
- It is grown in parts of the municipalities from Vico Equense to Massa Lubrense and on the island of Capri. (Qualigeo — Limone di Sorrento IGP)
- The trees stand on terraces under pergolas of chestnut poles covered with cane mats, the «pagliarelle». (Qualigeo — Limone di Sorrento IGP)
- It flowers several times a year and is hand-picked from 1 January to 31 October. (Qualigeo — Limone di Sorrento IGP)
History and origin
Lemons on the Sorrento peninsula are documented with certainty from the sixteenth century, but their roots go further back: according to the Campania Region, paintings and mosaics from the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum show fruit very similar to today's Massese and Ovale di Sorrento lemons. Renaissance deeds of sale, paintings and literary and botanical treatises describe local lemons being put to the most varied uses.
The first specialised groves are owed to the Jesuit fathers in the seventeenth century. One of the earliest, called «il Gesù», still exists in the Conca di Guarazzanno, between Sorrento and Massa Lubrense: these two towns gave the variety its names, Ovale di Sorrento and Massese.
The lemon appears in the works of Torquato Tasso, born in Sorrento, of Giovanni Pontano and of Giovan Battista della Porta. In the nineteenth century the historian Bonaventura da Sorrento described shipments all over the world, above all on ships bound for America. The PGI has been registered since 2000.
Sources: Regione Campania — Limone di Sorrento IGP · Qualigeo — Limone di Sorrento IGP · eAmbrosia — Limone di Sorrento (PGI-IT-0098)
Area and method of production
The production area covers parts of Vico Equense, Meta, Piano di Sorrento, Sant'Agnello, Sorrento and Massa Lubrense, plus the island of Capri with the municipalities of Capri and Anacapri, in the province of Naples. The lemons grow on terraces held up by walls, along slopes that run down to the sea.
The trees are trained as open vases under the «Sorrento pergola»: frames of poles, preferably chestnut, covered with reed or straw mats called «pagliarelle». The cover protects the plants from cold and wind and delays ripening, one of the most typical traits of this production, which allows fine lemons to be picked in summer too.
The plant flowers repeatedly, up to five times a year, so harvest is spread between 1 January and 31 October; since 2011 the specification has started it in January instead of February, because ripening times have shifted. The fruit must be picked by hand, without touching the ground.
Sources: Qualigeo — Limone di Sorrento IGP · Regione Campania — Limone di Sorrento IGP
How to recognise it
The Sorrento lemon belongs to the local Ovale di Sorrento ecotype, also known as the Massa Lubrense or Massese lemon. It is elliptical and medium-large: each fruit weighs at least 85 grams.
The skin, of medium thickness and citrine yellow, is very fragrant thanks to its wealth of essential oils. Inside, the flesh is pale straw yellow and very juicy; the plentiful juice has high acidity, well balanced by sugars, and is rich in vitamin C and minerals.
It is sold fresh, loose or in rigid containers, and also processed, as Sorrento lemon marmalade and Sorrento lemon liqueur with geographical indication.
Sources: Qualigeo — Limone di Sorrento IGP · Regione Campania — Limone di Sorrento IGP
In the kitchen
On the peninsula the lemon is used in countless ways: plain, in fresh juices, to scent desserts, marmalades and drinks. It is a must in seafood pasta dishes and alongside fish, and in local cooking it runs through menus from starter to dessert, and even into coffee.
Peel steeped in alcohol gives limoncello, the liqueur that won international fame right here. Sorrento lemon marmalade is also well worth trying.
Among desserts, limoncello babà, lemon delizie and lemon sorbet are great favourites, treats that tell visitors about the Sorrento peninsula and Capri.
Sources: Qualigeo — Limone di Sorrento IGP · Regione Campania — Limone di Sorrento IGP
Where to taste it
The «lemon gardens», with their terraces and covers of poles and mats, define the landscape of the Sorrento peninsula and have made it famous worldwide. They line the road from Vico Equense to Meta, Piano di Sorrento, Sant'Agnello and Sorrento, as far as Massa Lubrense, and appear on the island of Capri, at Anacapri and Capri.
The Region also notes the role of the lemon groves in protecting the soil of the slopes and shaping the coastal landscape, an integral part of the area's appeal to visitors. Between Sorrento and Massa Lubrense, the Conca di Guarazzanno preserves one of the Jesuits' historic groves.
Thanks to the covers, fresh lemons are available for much of the year, with the summer crop as the most distinctive moment; limoncello, marmalade and lemon desserts can be found all year round.
Sources: Regione Campania — Limone di Sorrento IGP · Qualigeo — Limone di Sorrento IGP
Protection
- Protected geographical indication (PGI) — PGI-IT-0098 (eAmbrosia — Limone di Sorrento (PGI-IT-0098))
When
- Harvest: January–October (Qualigeo — Limone di Sorrento IGP)
Where
Read more
Southern citrus rosolios: limoncello, arancello, mandarinello
Limoncello is a generic name, but the lemon liqueurs of Amalfi and Sorrento are geographical indications. PGI citrus, traditional products and family customs across the Amalfi Coast, the Sorrento peninsula and the Gargano.
Read the guide →