A few years ago, sitting at the table of an agriturismo in Lecco, I turned to look at the bookshelf beside us. Two little books caught my eye, both by Morello Pecchioli, an Italian journalist: I frutti dimenticati and Le verdure dimenticate (forgotten fruits and forgotten vegetables). I picked the former up and opened it to the first fruit: l’anguria di Bagnacavallo (citrullus lanatus, or watermelon). And though I have no connection to Bagnacavallo, the town in Emilia-Romagna where this watermelon comes from, I was surprised to see that I am connected to another place mentioned on that page: Montreal. I read that story and, in the following days, made sure to check out every book store until I could find a copy of each (fruits and veggies) for my own.
For the first Sunday Story in this weekly series - where I will share much shorter and more casual tidbits and stories gathered from my research and experiences - I decided to share with you how a Montreal family saved this Italian watermelon.
The anguria di Bagnacavallo is an ancient watermelon variety that was believed lost to history and hybrids. It was emigration that brought it back to Italian fields. The original seeds were rediscovered by horticulturalist Eugenio Mingozzi, who organized to have some returned to Bagnacavallo. Through his research, he found that emigrants had brought seeds with them to Canada, specifically Montreal, and had successfully grown them in their garden.
Pecchioli provides two possibile explanations. The first tells of a family arriving in Canada in 1930, though their name or any details about them are not mentioned. They brought over many seeds and among them were those for the anguria. They lived near Montreal, by the river, and that’s where they planted them.
The second follows a Canadian soldier who had fought in Emilia-Romagna during WWII. He may have brought the seeds with him when he came back.
Pecchioli thinks the first situation is most likely. Knowing that it was habit for Italian families emigrating in the 20th century to bring seeds and cuttings with them (which is how we have fig trees in many Canadian backyards, spending the winters buried underground or tightly wrapped in protective material), I am leaning towards that explanation as well.
Digging Deeper
The history of what we eat has always been tied to movement, whether it be hunting, migration or trade. And it is quite common knowledge at this point that icons of Italian cuisine, like tomatoes, did not originate on that land at all. Watermelon (which has become an icon of Italian summers) is native to Africa, particularly, early evidence of the fruit has been found in Nigeria and Libya, where 5000-year old wild seeds were discovered.
Over time and generations of cultivation, watermelon became associated to the taste of home for the Italian family that is thought to have brought it with them to Canada. Forever altering the landscape and flora within their backyard, soil that had probably never been introduced to that kind of seed before. And saving this watermelon from extinction.
There are so many layers to consider. One being the ancient history of this fruit (I will leave some links below since this is supposed to be a short series). The other being immigration: the act of leaving and the history around that movement; preserving culture through seeds, seen as some of the most precious cargo; in so doing, our connection to a place and time long gone (whether it be through modernization or ubanization, or even depopulation) became a resource for the country left behind. Another being colonization and how it is always linked to immigration in the context of this continent: Italian-Canadians have “built the country,” through our history as working class labourers; we have also been able to rebuild our traditions by owning and tending to land in our personal or community gardens. Dealing with the loss of emigration through our backyards and in our kitchens.
I would like to end these stories with questions that I am left pondering, and that maybe you would like to reflect on as well. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments:
Heirloom and heritage seeds are important for biodiversity and the environment. But we also connect with them on an emotional level. How and why?
My nonno grows his tomatoes from Molisan seeds, given to him by a friend who has now passed away. Can seeds carry memory?
How do we honour our cultural practices while also acknowledging that colonialism has continuously sought to take away Indigenous peoples’ abilities to do this? Can we have a decolonial Italian-Canadian garden?
Cass
Links
On things discussed above and other watermelon-related histories of interest.
Billie Anania, “How Watermelon Became a Symbol of Palestinian Resistance ,” Hyperallergic, July 29, 2021, https://hyperallergic.com/666111/how-watermelon-became-a-symbol-of-palestinian-resistance/.
Bridget Alex, “Why Prehistoric Herders Didn’t Spit Out Their Watermelon Seeds,” Smithsonian Mag, November 3, 2022, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/watermelon-seeds-were-snacked-before-its-flesh-became-sweet-180981008/.
Cynthia Greenlee, “On eating watermelon in front of white people: “I’m not as free as I thought”,” Vox, August 29, 2019, https://www.vox.com/first-person/2019/8/29/20836933/watermelon-racist-history-black-people.
Harald Bauder & Rebecca Breen, “Indigenous Perspectives of Immigration Policy in a Settler Country,” Int. Migration & Integration, 24, 2023, pp 369–384, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12134-022-00951-4.
“History: Watermelon’s Backstory Has Deep Roots,” Watermelon Times, https://watermelontimes.com/watermelon-history/.
Lauren David, “Why Heirloom Seeds Matter,” Food Print, August 18, 2023, https://foodprint.org/blog/heirloom-seeds/.
Mark Strauss, “The 5,000-Year Secret History of the Watermelon,” National Geographic, April 21, 2015, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/150821-watermelon-fruit-history-agriculture.
Shahinda Abdalla, “How the Ancient Egyptians are Responsible for the Watermelons We Eat Today,” CSA, https://csa-living.org/oasis-blog/a-brief-history-of-watermelon-how-the-ancient-egyptians-domesticated-it-into-the-sweet-red-fruit-we-know-today.
Tara Yarlagadda, “The hidden, ancient history of summer’s favorite fruit,” Inverse, February 20, 2024, https://www.inverse.com/science/watermelons-seedy-history.
William R. Black, “How Watermelons Became Black,” Journal of the Civil War Era,
Vol. 8, No. 1, March 2018, pp. 64-86.
William R. Black, “How Watermelons Became a Racist Trope,” The Atlantic, December 8, 2014, https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/.