Lemons of the Sorrentine Peninsula: An Integrated Cultural Landscape
Harvard Graduate School of Design
Penny White Travel and Research Grant
In collaboration with Julian Wu
How does agriculture influence culture?
How has lemon farming along the Sorrentine Peninsula symbiotically evolved alongside the region’s urban development?
The lemon gardens of the Sorrentino-Amalfitana Peninsula represent a complete integration and co-evolution of an agricultural product with its physical and cultural environment. Over the last 300 years, the demands of lemon tree cultivation have morphed the landscape of the peninsula and influenced patterns of settlement in the area. Lemon tree farming has impacted the physical development of the towns along the coastline, from the density of the population to the shapes of the individual dwellings, through its proliferation and dependency on terraced ground. Though lemon farming in the region is difficult and labor-intensive on account of its severe topography and occasionally adverse weather conditions, the lemon trees play a crucial role in their physical environment by counteracting hydrological instability and erosion of the soil, a phenomenon common in similar areas of Italy.
Biological, social, economic, and institutional factors were evaluated in order to identify sustainable methods of preservation and possible future adaptation. Connections between lemon farming, landscape, and architectural expression were studied to determine the relationships among these elements that make the area an ecologically and culturally successful example of agricultural semi-urbanization.