Oranges and lemons were already an important source of income for the Sorrento-Amalfi Peninsula as far back as 1300 and fed an intense flow of direct export to the main Italian and European markets. The two species have dominated alternately through the centuries. This has depended on the ups and downs of the market, which have made farmers turn to one crop or the other and sometimes make unwise change backs. Consequently it is necessary to reorganise local citrus growing today, as its importance for the landscape is invaluable.

The Sorrento orange and the lemon share the same cultivation technique: wooden stakes (usually made of chestnut wood from the surrounding areas) are used and may be anything up to 7 metres in height. Straw mats are arranged over the top (the traditional "pagliarelle") to form a cover that can be replaced or used with nets and windbreaks to protect against the wind and cold. This cover delays the ripening of the fruit, which can be sold at a later period than other Italian oranges, thus allowing wider profit margins. From the mother cultivar, "Biondo comune", two local ecotypes have reproduced and gradually become established: the "Biondo Sorrentino" and the "Biondo Equense". Both are vigorous, upward-growing plants, which often reach 7 metres in height.

The fruit are an orange-yellow colour of varying intensity and large in size (the Sorrento is the larger), with medium-thick skin, numerous, seedless segments and sweet, juicy flesh. The harvest begins in May and continues to the beginning of August for the fruit that develops from the later flowering. A syrup can be made by macerating the Sorrento oranges, it has a rich aroma and flavour and is on the regional list of tradi¬tional products. The Consortium for the protection of the Sorrento Lemon has turned its attention to the excellent juice of this orange in order to attain DOP recognition (Protected Denomination of Origin).