This heirloom melon, a variety of Cucumis melo, is named after the town of Viadana in Mantova Province, in the heart of the Po Plain. It is a vigorous annual plant with a vining habit. The seeds are sown in April in a protected place and then the seedlings are transplanted into open fields in May. Alternatively, the seeds can be direct sown in May. Harvesting is done by hand and takes place between June and September. The fruits typically range in weight from 900 grams to 1.5 kilograms and have a diameter of 15 centimeters; they have a rounded, slightly flattened shape, and poorly defined longitudinal grooves. When ripe, the rind is thin, smooth (sometimes slightly reticulated), and pale yellowish. The pulp is an intense orange color, tender, and highly aromatic. The seeds are of a cream yellow color.
This variety was consumed as a fruit or as a vegetable, cooked into soups. When times were lean, a meal could be made of bread, sliced melon, and a pinch of salt. Mostly, Viadana melons were consumed as a refreshing snack, particularly by farmers as they worked in the fields. It was also featured as the main ingredient in prosciutto e melone (“cured ham and melon”), a summer dish that has become popular throughout Italy and beyond, but which has its roots in the peasant cuisine of the Po Valley. Thanks so its intense aroma, Viadana melon stands out in fruit salads, sorbets, ice creams, and smoothies. Harvested early, it can serve as the star ingredient in mostarda mantovana, a condiment typical of Mantova’s regional gastronomy, made by conserving fruit in sugar syrup with mustard extract. Mostarda pairs well with Parmigiano and other aged cheeses.
The clayey, potassium-rich soils around Viadana and Casalmaggiore are particularly well suited to melon cultivation and, imparting sweetness to the fruits. The Viadana heirloom variety seems to have developed near the hamlet of Bellaguarda from spontaneous crossings of pre-existing melon varieties during the postwar period. It was the appearance of this melon, characterized by aromas and flavors that were unusual at the time, that made Viadana a famous melon-producing area. This important fruit is celebrated locally in an annual festival that coincides with the beginning of the melon harvest.
The Viadana melon became so popular so quickly that it displaced other local varieties. This boom lasted until the 1970s when, due to several defects—uneven size, sensitivity to Fusarium wilt (a fungal disease), and the tendency of the melons to split open, which made transportation and marketing difficult—the Viadana variety was supplanted by new commercial varieties. Today, the Viadana heirloom melon is at high risk from genetic erosion. Its seeds are conserved in the germplasm bank at the University of Pavia, and only two main producers are committed to conserving the variety in situ (i.e., through continued cultivation); they grow it only in limited quantities.
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