Vesuvian gardens and vines

At the foot of Vesuvius the areas cultivated with vegetable gardens, mostly of small size, are often associated with vineyards arranged in rows or in suggestive pergolas, typical agricultural accommodations of the local rural environments spread throughout the territory, survivors of ancient peasant traditions of which the memory is lost in time.
The Piedirosso grape variety, with its red berries, and the Coda di Volpe grape, with its white berries, are living proof of these traditions. Already Pliny the Elder had mentioned it in his Naturalis Historia, describing a vine Cauda Vulpium suitable for pergola breeding and also Colombina, later assimilated to “Piedirosso”, as one of the most common vine at that time; today they are characteristic elements of famous names, such as the D.O.C. Vesuvius, of which the “Piedirosso” is the main vine, and the D.O.C. Vesuvio Bianco and Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio as far as the “Coda di Volpe” is concerned.
Another element characterizing the variability of this rural landscape is the Lemon, an inevitable presence in the Vesuvian gardens whose precious fruit is inserted as a protagonist in the local cuisine and in the preparation of traditional sweets and liqueurs.