The oranges of Sicily are the sun you eat — the extraordinary sweetness and flavour of Sicilian citrus is the taste of the island's exceptional sunlight, compressed into fruit. Used as a praise of Sicilian produce and, more broadly, as a statement that Sicily's greatest gift is its sun.
Sicilian oranges — particularly the blood oranges of the Etna area and the navel oranges of Syracuse — are renowned worldwide for their exceptional sweetness and intensity. This is not accident but geology and climate: the volcanic basalt soil around Etna mineralises the water that feeds the trees, the diurnal temperature variation (warm days, cool nights) concentrates the sugars, and the extraordinary Sicilian sun provides the energy for photosynthesis at a level unmatched in most of Europe. The orange becomes a vessel of sunlight — the proverb makes this literal. For Sicilians, their citrus was not just food but a demonstration of what their land could produce when the sun was working. It was also the product that, through Palermo's Norman-Arab gardens (the 'Genoard'), introduced the orange to European cultivation.
A lyrical proverb-praise of Sicilian citrus, rooted in the island's extraordinary citrus-growing tradition, introduced and developed under Arab rule and perfected over a millennium. The blood oranges of Etna and the oranges of Syracuse are among the world's most celebrated. 'Aranci' = arance, 'soli' = sole.
Offering a Sicilian orange to a visitor from the north
Assaggia questa. Li aranci di Sicilia su lu soli chi si mancia — non ha niente a che fare con quello che vendono al supermercato di Milano.
Taste this one. The oranges of Sicily are the sun you eat — it has nothing to do with what they sell at the supermarket in Milan.
A Sicilian farmer explaining the quality of his product
Non uso concimi artificiali. Li aranci di Sicilia su lu soli chi si mancia — quello che vedete è solo sole, acqua vulcanica e terra.
I use no artificial fertilisers. The oranges of Sicily are the sun you eat — what you see is only sun, volcanic water, and earth.
A food writer describing the experience of eating Sicilian blood oranges
Non sapevo che un'arancia potesse avere quel sapore. Li aranci di Sicilia su lu soli chi si mancia — è letteralmente vero.
I did not know an orange could have that flavour. The oranges of Sicily are the sun you eat — it is literally true.
An emigrant receiving a package of oranges from home
Mia madre mi manda le arance ogni inverno. Li aranci di Sicilia su lu soli chi si mancia — quando le sbuccio mi sembra di essere ancora là.
My mother sends me oranges every winter. The oranges of Sicily are the sun you eat — when I peel them I feel like I am still there.