The Citrus Groves
The citrus trees come from southern Asia, where there is a wild orange
tree, probably the ancestor of both sweet and bitter cultivated orange
trees. The sweet orange tree was cultivated in Europe towards the half
of the 15th century, and it was introduced in the East by the
Portuguese.
The cultivation of citrus trees in Liguria has very
ancient origins: in the 16th century the citrus trees were in Nervi,
Genoa, San Remo, Mentone.
In 1867 Thomas Hanbury found in the estate a considerable number of specimens which he preserved in his own garden.
Currently
in the Hanbury Gardens about twenty species are cultivated - sweet
orange trees, bitter orange trees, lemons, cedars, grapefruits,
bergamots (and others) - many of which are important in the diet, for
cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and ornamental goals.
