Limone di Siracusa

The lemon plant originates in Burma, where it is found growing wild: from there it crossed the Middle East, Mesopotamia, and Syria (region), to the Mediterranean, where it found favorable conditions to thrive. The natural habitat of the lemon lies in a strip from the 40° parallel in the North to the 40° parallel in the South: this strip includes California, Uruguay, Argentina, South Africa and the Mediterranean basin, in particular Italy, Spain, Greece and Turkey. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when there was an aristocratic monopoly on citrus growing, the use of lemons was confined to luxury foods.
It began to be cultivated more intensively in Siracusa from the early seventeenth century, through the work of the Jesuits who were competent growers. The lemon went on to become one of the principal sources of wealth in the region, reaching an output of around 11,500 tonnes in 1891. This success catalysed the birth in Sicily of various citrus related industries, which extracted juice concentrates, calcium citrate and the citric acid from the fruit. During this period the Siracusa lemon made a considerable fortune in foreign markets, especially in the United States and in England, as confirmed by records from the second half of the eighteenth century, held in Siracusa's Camera di Commercio e Arti (lit. 'Chamber of Commerce and Arts'). Records regarding shipments at the Port of Siracusa in the early nineteenth century indicate that the principal destinations for lemons, oranges, both sweet and bitter, concentrated lemon juice and calcium citrate were the ports of Trieste, London, Fiume, Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester, Malta and Odessa.
Despite the urbanisation and industrialisation (see e.g. Augusta-Priolo) that occurred at the beginning of the post-war period,…

The Siracusa lemon is characterised by a high juice content and abundance of oil glands in the skin, as well as the high quality of its essential oils. The Siracusan variety of lemon is called a femminello because of the fertility of the plant, which flowers all year round: the primofiore matures from October 1, has an elliptical shape, skin and flesh which varies from light green to lemon-yellow, and lemon-yellow juice; the bianchetto ripens from April 15, is ovoid-elliptical, with light yellow skin, yellow flesh and lemon-yellow juice; the verdello matures from July 1, is an spheroid elliptical shape, light green skin, and lemon-yellow flesh and juice.
The planting scheme must have a maximum density of 400–500 plants per hectare or 850 in the case of high-density dynamic planting. Growers can use conventional, integrated and organic methods. All cultivation operations must be undertaken in a way which maintain perfect plant equilibrium and development in addition to providing normal aeration and sunlight exposure. Harvesting is done by hand-picking each fruit direct from the plant, using special secateurs to cut the fruit's stalk.

The Siracusa lemon accounts for more than 30% of the Italian lemon supply. The consumer base for the Siracusa lemon is mainly represented in the Italian market by large scale retail chains, in particular those from northern Italy; intra-EU exports are directed at the markets of Germany, Austria, France, and Denmark; while the principal markets outside the EU are the United Kingdom and Norway. The product is branded in the marketplace as "Limone di Siracusa IGP": it can be sold either in bulk, or packaged in appropriate containers made from cardboard, wood or plastic, or in nets and bags with a plastic band attached to the net. Retail categories are "Extra" and "Prima" only, for the fresh produce, while processing admits lower categories too.

The Siracusa lemon is used in a wide range of fields, in addition to the commercial fresh fruit market; in particular, the food and drink sectors, medical and scientific applications, cosmetics and perfumery, which are supplied with juice and essential oil through processing companies.