Citrus fruits in Bolzano

When we hear the word agrumen, we think of delicious fruit, fragrant flowers and fascinating plants that we would hardly associate with our land and our traditions. Based on the few data from the 19th century economic reports of the Bolzano Chamber of Commerce and a handful of oral traditions, the exhibition offers an insight into a little-known but very fascinating part of the provincial capital's past. Among other things, it tells of merchants who offered their cargoes of citrus fruit to the rich cities of northern Europe at the Bolzano fairs, and of delicious desserts and jams made with lemon juice and peel. The exhibition immerses us in the long-forgotten atmosphere of the city of Bolzano with its many gardens, where greenhouses modelled on the limonaie on Lake Garda were built and dismantled to grow the precious citrus fruits and enjoy the lush nature all year round. With documents and historical artefacts, works of art, everyday objects and contemporary designer pieces on loan from private and public collections in Switzerland and abroad, the exhibition explores various aspects of the architecture, economy, production and processing of citrus fruits over the past centuries, allowing us to experience the timeless magic of these fruits.