Citrus is well known around the world, it’s used in many different cultures to flavour dishes and adorn gardens, but how many of us think about where these lemons or oranges come from? As we place them in our baskets at the supermarket, are any of us thinking about the provenance; were they hand picked, what does the farm look like, what kind of products can be made from citrus, what other varieties are there?

Citrus Archive is a project started by photographer Sophia Massarella, celebrating the history and traditions of Italian citrus, documenting ancient techniques, regional recipes and everything in between. The project first came to fruition after coming across a copy of Giovanni Battista Ferrari’s Hesperides which was published in 1646 and was the first book dedicated to the taxonomy of citrus.