Aranzo dolce da Genova

This is an antique botanical engraving by Johann Christoph Volckamer, published in his work Nürnbergische Hesperides (1708-1714). The print depicts a sweet orange, labeled in a ribbon as “Aranzo dolce da Genova” (Sweet Orange from Genoa). The fruit is shown hovering over a detailed vignette of the Palazzo del N. H. Morosina in Noventa Padovana, where this specific citrus variety was cultivated. The style, typical of Volckamer’s work, is known for its “surrealist experiment” of floating fruit above a landscape view. Volckamer was a German merchant and botanist who documented various citrus fruits at a time when they were largely unknown in northern Europe.