Citrus collection from the Kolymbethra Garden

This collection hosts 16 ancient citrus cultivars, originating from the Kolymbethra Garden in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento and dating back to the 18th century.

Planted in 2019, the primary goal was to preserve the valuable genetic heritage, as some of the ecotypes are considered unique, as revealed by molecular research.

The variety collection includes: pigmented pulp oranges (Arancio Sanguinello, Arancio Sanguinello moscato, Arancio Sanguigno, Arancio Sanguigno doppio, Arancio Moro, Arancio Vaniglia sanguigno, Arancio sanguinello “Ngannalatri”), blond pulp oranges (Arancio Biondo comune 'Portugal' - Arancio Ovale, Arancio Amaro, Arancio Belladonna, Arancio Vaniglia biondo Arancio gruppo Navel 'Brasiliano') and also the common mandarin 'Avana', common clementine or mandarancio and the common lemon 'Zagara bianca'.

Among the more unusual cultivars is the 'Ngannalatri' orange, whose fruit has a lumpy skin that makes it unattractive to the eye, despite being very sweet and aromatic.

The citrus fruits in the collection have been produced in the Piante Faro nurseries in Giarre, where a cultivation of mother plants of the varieties taken from the Kolymbethra has been set up, so as to have samples from which vegetative material can be taken for propagation.

The soil surface housing the collection was arranged to implement traditional surface irrigation, originally developed by the Arabs, still in use today, to recall the characteristics of the landscape of historical agriculture. The soil has been worked to shape saje, cunnutti and casedde.

The collection is the result of a collaboration between the Museum System of the University of Palermo and its Botanical Garden, with the FAI - Giardino della Kolymbethra and the Fondazione Radicepura - Vivai Piante Faro of Giarre, with the patronage of the Archaeological and Landscape Park of the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.