Golden Fruit : A Cultural History of Oranges in Italy.

Cover -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: How to Peel an Orange -- 1 Fruit of the Spirit: Health, Salvation, and Catherine of Siena's Candied Oranges -- The Ambivalent Status of Early Modern Fruit -- Holy People and the Introduction of Oranges in Europe -- Sweet and Bitter Flavours in Catherine's Orange Letter -- Catherine's Recipe for Candying and for Holiness -- 2 The Fruit of Love: Citrus Symbolism in Pontano and Basile -- Oranges as Symbols of Love in Renaissance Culture -- Pontano's De hortis Hesperidum and the Praise of Campania -- Women and Fruit in Basile's "The Three Citrons" -- Citrus Fruit and the Literary Dignity of Fairy Tales -- 3 The Fruit of the Womb: Ferrari's Maternal Images of Citrus -- Pregnancy and Metamorphosis in Botany and Literature -- Fruit, Women, and Monsters in Early Modern Europe -- The Classification of Citrus Monsters in Hesperides -- Ferrari's Citrus Myths of Origin -- 4 Strange Fruit: Violence and the Sacred in the Economy of Citrus -- Oranges and Wealth in Early Modern Times -- The Ambivalent Value of Oranges in Sicilian Folklore -- Sacred Oranges and Immigrant Stories -- Violence and the Sacred Oranges of Rosarno -- Conclusion: The Colour of the Golden Fruit -- Appendix: A Chronology of Oranges -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- Colour plates follow page 86.

Through close readings of key texts, including spiritual writings, fairy tales, and a botanical treatise, Golden Fruitexamines the role of oranges in Italian culture from their introduction during the medieval period through to the present day.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.