Written by Frouzindeh Annelise Dyouya — Friday, June 28th, 2013

Strawberry: a fruit from the province of Rome

Delicious fruits from a little city near Rome.

Nemi is a little town well known for its flower industry and it is considered the strawberries' capital of Italy. In Nemi a most popular and most visited town festival is annually set up in order to celebrate this divine fruit.

Nemi: the strawberries' capital of Italy

The little town of Nemi is a beautiful, lush place situated at the heart of the Roman Castles giving onto the volcanic lake which holds the same name. There the nobly born families sheltered themselves in the Middle Ages from the anarchy that was reigning in Rome. Two ancient ships built in the 1st century AD by the Roman emperor Caligula were also recovered in that area in 1927-1932, in the lake of Nemi.

On the hillside slopes around the above mentioned Lake of Nemi, strawberries grows in two different varieties:

wild strawberry - the so called fragoline di bosco that translating means strawberries from the wood;
common strawberry - known as garden strawberries.

A curiosity: not so many years ago, Nemi has even won the Guinness world record for its over a ton cup of strawberries.

May is the month for the strawberry harvest

In Nemi, Strawberry harvest occurs in May. Nevertheless farmers are used to set up many ceremonies until the end of Spring. On the first Sunday of June, for example, resident girls (le fragolare - strawberry girls) dressed in traditional outfits offer baskets full of strawberries, in order to mimic an ancient tradition: the tears of the goddess of love Venus transformed the blood of her man Adonis into small red strawberries (or hearts, who knows).

Strawberries

Image credits by Fried Dough, released under Creative Commons license.

The occasion was celebrated all the thirteens of June in Campo de' Fiori Square in Rome, where the strawberry sellers gave the fruit to passengers from a basket holding a statue of Saint Antonio of Padova. After some years the tradition was then brought to Nemi.

How to choose the right strawberries

When you buy strawberries they should be a lively, sparkling scarlet and without any bruise. If the tips are green, the berries are probably not ready to be eaten, in fact they could be without flavours. The berries should also be stiff. If their color isn’t bright and not sparkling, or if they appear not wet and deflated, without any doubt they may be not fresh.

If you buy a plastic basket of strawberries check very well the berries underneath, because they easily add mould. Al last a great strawberries' aroma will reach your nose!

Most of all in hot days, it’s very important to store strawberries in the fridge in order to let them living at least two days. Another suggestion dealing with strawberries is to give them a wipe with a not rigid towel before eating them, obviously after a good water rinsing.