Aranzo Striato dolce - Joseph de Montalegre

A detailed 1714 botanical engraving of the Aranzo Striato dolce, featuring the fruit alongside the Palazzo del N. H. Fonte in Noventa.

This engraving originates from the Nurnbergische Hesperides, a comprehensive botanical treatise published in Nuremberg in 1714. The work documents various citrus varieties cultivated in the gardens of the European aristocracy. Joseph de Montalegre, a Hungarian engraver, provided the visual documentation for this ambitious project, which sought to catalogue the diversity of the genus Citrus.

The composition is divided into two distinct registers. The upper portion features a detailed study of the Aranzo Striato dolce, a striped sweet orange. The fruit is depicted both whole and in cross-section, revealing the internal structure of the segments. A blue ribbon, inscribed with the name of the specimen, winds around the stem, serving as a decorative and identifying element. The level of detail in the rind texture and the arrangement of the pulp demonstrates the scientific precision expected of eighteenth-century botanical records.

Below the fruit, the print depicts the Palazzo del N. H. Fonte in Noventa. This architectural inclusion provides context for the specimen, illustrating the specific garden setting where the orange was grown. The building is rendered with linear clarity, showing the classical facade adorned with statues along the roofline. In the foreground, small figures populate the garden, providing a sense of scale to the formal grounds. The combination of precise botanical observation and architectural documentation is characteristic of the period, reflecting an interest in both natural history and the curated environments of the landed gentry. This print offers a view into the intersection of horticulture and estate design in early eighteenth-century Italy, captured through the medium of fine copperplate engraving.