A thousand-year history

Lemon of Sorrento PGI

The cultivation of lemons in the Sorrento Peninsula has a thousand-year history. The presence of the lemon in the entire coastal area of Campania has been witnessed since ancient times. Splendid lemon trees are in fact represented in paintings and mosaics found in the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum

A bit of history

Limone di Sorrento PGI has a long history. In the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum, frescoes and mosaics depicting lemon trees were found. Around 1600 the Jesuit Fathers owned funds in the Sorrentine Peninsula intended for the cultivation of lemons.

Charateritics

The lemon grown in the Sorrentine Peninsula is called "Female common oval of Sorrento". It is generous in juice and its peel is rich in essential oils with a particularly intense scent and aroma. Its beneficial properties are widely recognized: it increases the natural defenses, it is detoxifying, purifying, it has anti-semantic and hypotensive functions.

The territory

The production area of the Sorrento Lemon includes much of the territory of the municipalities of Vico Equense, Meta, Piano di Sorrento, Sant’Agnello, Sorrento, Massa Lubrense, Capri and Anacapri. In this area, the Sorrento Lemon is grown according to strict regulations, which provide for the use of traditional techniques and a drastic limitation of the use of fertilizers and pesticides.

In the kitchen

Lemon can be used in many ways: in summer you can prepare a refreshing juice; a squeeze of lemon on the meat facilitates the absorption of iron; do you like sweets?, try to prepare a lemon tiramisu or try the recipe of the "Delizia al Limone". If you want an excellent liqueur for the end of a meal, use the yellow part of the peel to prepare the Limoncello. And then let your imagination work!