Oranges and Tangerines, Healthy Excellence of Calabria

13.10.2020

There is nothing stranger than to think that the emblem of the Mediterranean, Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges, do not originate in this splendid land, Calabria. Among the many sources that can be cited on the subject is the wonderful book, “the Mediterranean” by Fernand Braudel which clearly states that the gardens we see in the Mediterranean, the Mediterranean scrub, the typical fruit trees of the Mediterranean does not come from here.

The spectacle that the flora and fauna of the Mediterranean opened to the Greeks was completely different over 2500 years ago. Braudel said: “If Herodotus, the father of history, who lived in the fifth century BC, returned and mixed with today’s tourists, he would encounter one surprise after another. <<I imagine him>>, wrote Lucien Febvre, <<while remakes his Periplus of the Eastern Mediterranean today. Those golden fruits among the dark green leaves of certain shrubs, oranges, lemons, mandarins, he doesn’t remember ever seeing them in his life, they come from the Far East, they were introduced by the Arabs>>”.

However, this is the past, the history. Nowadays, these citrus fruits have acclimatized here better than elsewhere. Today talking about Calabria means talking about its treasure of Mandarins, Oranges and Tangerines!

VERY TASTY AND PRECIOUS FOR HEALTH

Calabria produces about 25% of the national citrus production. There are about 44,000 citrus farms. Reggio Calabria is the province with the largest number of companies followed by that of Cosenza.

A plenty of vitamins

These two provinces always produce a quantity higher than 70% of the total for each species produced. The most cultivated species in Calabria is orange followed by clementines in the provinces of Cosenza and Catanzaro and by mandarin in all the others.

Calabria produces about 63% of the total production of clementines in Italy, 32% of oranges, 39% of other varieties of mandarins and 4.6% of lemons.

Calabria, thanks to its particular climate and the commitment of farmers, as well as being one of the most important citrus fruit producers in Italy, is characterized by the excellent quality of these products. In addition to goodness, these citrus fruits have substances that are precious for our health, among them vitamin C stands out. The human body is unable to produce or store ascorbic acid, essential for life. Lack of this vitamin can lead to bleeding and scarring problems. Vitamin C is important for the proper functioning of the immune system and the synthesis of collagen in the body, it serves to allow the absorption of iron and has an antioxidant action. Collagen strengthens blood vessels, skin, muscles and bones. Humans cannot create collagen without vitamin C.

ORANGES AND TANGERINES: A PANACEA FOR MOOD

We may point out that fruits and vegetables in general are not only good for health from a physical point of view but are also a panacea for mood. Increasing the consumption improves psychological well-being in a short time, two weeks are enough. This is what emerges from a New Zealand study, from the University of Otago, published in the “Plos One” Journal.

Of course, there are some variables that greatly influence the presence of vitamin C in food, from when it is harvested to when it arrives in our intestines.

Delicious and simple mandarins

The contact of vitamin C with the air tends to decrease its concentration in food; when, for example, an orange is squeezed and vitamin C comes into contact with the oxygen in the air, it oxidizes and a part is lost. Heat tends to “destroy” vitamin C; for this reason it is much more convenient to eat raw food whenever possible. The freshness of the food is also essential for the presence of vitamin C; the more time passes from the collection of food to its entry into the body, the more the presence of vitamin C decreases.

In fresh spinach stored for 7 days, at 4 ° C, only 20% of the total amount of vitamin C remains, from this it can be deduced that oranges stored for months have very little vitamin C.

 The 10 fruits richest in vitamin C are:

  • Currants  200 mg
  • Kiwi 85 mg
  • Strawberries and Clementines 54 mg
  • Oranges and lemons 50 mg
  • Tangerines 42 mg
  • Grapefruit 40 mg
  • Melon 32 mg
  • Raspberries 25 mg
  • Kaki 23 mg
  • Blackberries 19 mg
Colors, Health and Beauty

The other 10 vegetables richest in vitamin C are

  • Peppers 151 mg
  • Broccoli and rocket 110 mg
  • Brussels sprouts and turnip leaves 81 mg
  • Cauliflower 59 mg
  • Spinach 54 mg
  • Cabbage 47 mg
  • Endive 35 mg
  • Celery 32 mg
  • Asparagus and chard 24 mg
  • Tomatoes 21 mg

 The daily levels of vitamin C intake recommended by our national health system are as follows:

  • Infants (up to 1 year) 35 mg
  • Children (1 to 10 years) 45 mg
  • Male and female children (11 to 14 years) 50 mg
  • Adults 60 mg
  • Expectant mothers 70 mg
  • Lactating women 90 mg

San Nicola Arcella and its Famous Tower

2.10.2020

There is a beatiful Saracen tower in San Nicola Arcella, which represents the typical beautiful integration of nature and culture in the scenery of such wonderful Mediterranean place.

The tower was renamed Crawford for the literary stays of Francis Marion Crawford…and we solicit you to travel and see the beauty of this land, San Nicola Arcella, enjoying both the trip and the delicious food and beverage of Calabria…

The sea and the tower

FRANCIS MARION CRAWFORD

American poet and writer, who for 25 years chose the tower as his “summer retreat“, Crawford was a distinguished gentleman. He could speak Calabrian very well and, nowadays, the periods spent by Crawford to San Nicola Arcella are being studied for a more precise reconstruction of his life and works.

F.M. Crawford

Born in Bagni di Lucca in 1854, he moved to Sorrento from 1855 until 1909. Fervid and prolific mind has been rediscovered in recent years and re-evaluated with numerous conferences. Author of books of terror, he wrote several ones after his brilliant university career around the world. in fact, he came from a family of intellectuals and artists, was the son of the American sculptor Thomas Crawford and his mother, Louisa Cutler Ward, was the sister of the American poet Julia Ward Howe. We have also to mention that Crawford was a multifaceted author and connoisseur of 17 languages. He had had experiences in the United States and India, where he directed the newspaper “Allahabad Indian Herald” and had studied in US universities, in Cambridge and Concord, and then in Europe in Karlsruhe, Heidelberg and Rome.

His first novel is ‘Mr. Isaacs‘, a brilliant portrait of the life of an Englishman in India mixed with elements of mystery and romantic orientalism. The book was an immediate success! Then followed ‘Dr. Claudius‘ (1883). Also famous are the novels ‘Corleone‘ (1897), the first novel about the mafia and ‘The witch of Prague‘ (1901), an impressive Gothic. He wrote 45 novels in all, as well as numerous historical essays and plays. He loved Sorrento very much and stayed there to live.

His wonderful villa in Sorrento still exists.

This explains why he was deeply in love with Italy. After Sorrento He established his residence in Sant’Agnello and later in Calabria, in San Nicola Arcella, which he reached by sea with his American pilot boat “Alda“. In the 16th century lookout tower “San Nicola”, today called “Torre Crawford”, he lived for several years, drawing inspiration from this place for his conspicuous literary production, not exclusively linked to the “horror” genre for which he is known, especially for the short story “For the Blood is the life”, written and set in the tower.

The scenery of Crawford Tower

In any case, Crawford has been recognized in the Anglo-Saxon literary scene of his period among those writers of high rank, like William D. Howells, Henry James, Virginia Woolf, Rudyard Kipling. Among other things, on his most famous novels were based many films produced in the first half of the last century and interpreted by stars such as Clark Gable, Lillian Gish, Ronald Coleman.

THE SARACEN TOWER

…But let’s go back to the Tower of San Nicola Arcella. Built during the Spanish viceroyalty by Charles V to defend the coasts from Turkish attacks, it is located on a buttress to surveil and protect the bay.

A solid rock built tower

The high staircase leading to the first and second floors of the tower is one of the most important elements of the entire building. The stone blocks about 50 cm long and 20 cm wide are supported by two large superimposed arches. The first arch leads to the first floor, the second arch leads to the second floor.

Above the tower, the terrace was used to communicate and warn the other lookout towers about any incursion and this was done through large bonfires.

The colors of Mediterranean sea

For 25 years, as mentioned, the American writer spent his holidays making splendid forays with his sailboat. It was for the sea that he fell in love with this strip of Calabria and how to blame him: this sea is crystal-clear and has wonderful beaches.

He adored the Saracen tower, therefore wrote: “The tower stands alone on this hooked spur of the rock, and there is not a house to be seen within three miles of it. When I go there I take a couple of sailors, one of whom is a fair cook, and when I am away it is in charge of a gnome-like little being who was once a miner and who attached himself to me long ago…

A place for a tale

This is how the writer described the tower in the story ‘For the Blood is the life’. This was a vampire tale and was set in the tower of San Nicola Arcella!

Nowadays, the tower, after having changed several owners and risking becoming a nautical club and a restaurant, is owned by the Calia family of Naples, who have recently presented a project to transform it.

Deep colors of the Saracen Tower

THE LOCAL MEMORY OF CRAWFORD IN S. NICOLA ARCELLA

Until a few decades ago there was still someone in the historic center of the town (which at the time was called Casaletto), who remembered a staid and aristocratic Anglo-Saxon gentleman who came to spend the summer there to devote himself to writing.

A place where coming back…

The novelist often returned to San Nicola, where he completed one of his latest novels ‘The diva’s ruby’ (1907), staying there in search of places and traces of the medieval past of this area, an ideal setting for his stories steeped in mystery.

This is why you should visit the Place more than once!