limatic conditions are extremely varied in Italy, ranging from cold and moist on the southern slopes of the Alps to hot and dry inland from the shores of southern Sicily. In between there is a host of microclimates just as there is a medley of soil types. The Apennines, which run the length of the peninsula, shape the flow of air currents, which are also tempered by the surrounding seas. As a result, Italy is a leading producer and exporter of fruit of all kinds.
Many of those fruits have deep roots in Italian history. Roman officials returning from assignments in Eastern lands reportedly brought back with them numerous plants then unknown in the West, such as cherries. Citrus fruits, which apparently originated in southern China, made their appearance in Italy around the time of Augustus, as indicated by a fresco in the Museo Nazionale Romano in Rome.
Later, the Arab conquerors of Sicily improved techniques of cultivation and developed new strains of oranges and lemons. Red oranges are today a specialty of eastern and southeastern Sicily. Tangerines arrived on the scene in the fifties of the 20th century and took root in Calabria.
Chestnuts may be indigenous to Italy. In any case, they have been cultivated throughout the country since ancient times and they are extensively used in a vast number of sweet and savory preparations. The confectionery sector has made the cultivation of hazelnuts a major agricultural occupation, particularly in Piedmont but also in Campania’s Salerno province.
The Po Valley, one of the world’s richest farming areas, is a leading producer of pears as well as other fruits, vegetables and forage crops, not to mention wine grapes. In the Romagna, at the eastern edge of the valley, peaches and nectarines are the leading crops, while table grapes are the pride of central-southern Sicily, although they are grown in lesser measure in many other parts of Italy as well.
However, Italian farmers also grow and market large quantities of apples (in the northern region of Trentino-Alto Adige), apricots, persimmons, plums, kiwi (introduced in the last several decades), walnuts, almonds, strawberries, raspberries and many other varieties.
