Oranges are latecomers to the Italian table, but they quickly inspired art, literature, folklore, and more. In this presentation, Cristina Mazzoni traces the story of oranges in Italy from a medieval saint’s letter on candied fruit to early modern fairy tales and later Sicilian legends, exploring how sweetness and bitterness became enduring metaphors for love, transformation, and the complexity of the human experience.
Cristina Mazzoni grew up just outside of Rome and has lived in the United States for over forty years. She is the Mieder Green & Gold Professor of Italian at the University of Vermont, where she teaches courses on fairy tales, food culture, and Italian at all levels. Her love of food is clear from the titles of some of her books: The Pomegranates and Other Modern Italian Fairy Tales (2021); Golden Fruit: A Cultural History of Oranges in Italy (2018); The Women in God’s Kitchen: Cooking, Eating, and Spiritual Writing (2005). Cristina is a highly skilled peeler of oranges and can eat more of them in one sitting than anyone else in the room.
6:30: Sign in to Zoom
6:40 Presentation followed by general Q & A
The program is free to members, although advance registration is required.
Nonmembers and guests are invited for $10.
Reminders and a Zoom link will come from Eventbrite, once you register.