From the Living Museum
Mela Carla
- Origin
- Italy: said to be from Finale Ligure, Trentino or Calabria (probably Liguria)
- Era
- First described 1817; thought to be much older
- Type / use
- Dessert
History & Stories
Historic Southern European variety with aromatic dessert quality. Relatively little-known in modern North American collections, which itself makes it interesting.
Folklore & Name
Italian variety. ‘Mela Carla’ is the Italian name; elsewhere it was known as Caroli d'Italie, Caroli di Finale and, in German, Carlisapfel 1. Historic Southern European dessert apple with aromatic quality; relatively little-known in modern North American collections.
Digging into the History
Below my own notes, here is what the old fruit books and today’s collections record about this apple, kept apart from the stories people tell.
What we know
Mela Carla is an Italian dessert apple. The UK National Fruit Collection says it is "said to have originated from Finale Ligure, Trentino or Calabria, Italy," and was "first described in 1817 but thought to be considerably older" 1. It travelled under many names, including Carla, Carle, Caroli d'Italie, Caroli di Finale and the German Carlisapfel 1. The fruit has white, melting flesh with a sweet, perfumed flavour 1.
The competing accounts
- UK National Fruit Collection 1: "said to have originated from Finale Ligure, Trentino or Calabria"; first described in 1817 and thought to be much older.
- The synonyms in the same record 1, Caroli di Finale and Caroli de Finale, name Finale Ligure on the Ligurian coast.
Most likely (our judgment, not a certainty): Liguria, around Finale. Two of its old names point there, while the other places come only from "said to" reports. This is still an inference.
What we think: stories & traditions
Liguria the likeliest home. The three regions named are far apart, from the Alps to the toe of Italy 1. The synonyms "Caroli di Finale" and "Caroli de Finale" point to Finale Ligure on the Ligurian coast 1. That is our inference from the names, not a documented origin.
Sources
- UK National Fruit Collection, "Mela Carla." www.nationalfruitcollection.org.uk/full2.php?id=3898&fruit=apple
Curious about Mela Carla?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.