Cluster Fruits and Legumes... for health !!!

The Fruits and Legumes Cluster contains fruit plants of varying sizes that give off their aroma, inviting visitors in to discover the legends, history and origins that surround them. Visitors can move freely around the paths that divide the different countries and the fruits that grow in them. Through the use of real plants and light and shade effects, visitors will have the opportunity to experience how it might feel to walk through a real cultivated forest environment.

Cluster card

EXHIBITION CONTENT: Università Vita Salute S. Raffaele, Italy
SCIENTIFIC RESPONSIBLE AND PROJECT COORDINATOR: Roberto Mordacci
CONCEPT AND EXHIBITION LAYOUT: Matteo Vercelloni, Massimo Ferrari
CONTRIBUTORS: Stefano De Feudis, Stefano Sala, Claudia Tinazzi
TOTAL AREA: 3.705 sqm
EXHIBITION AREA: 1.125 sqm
COMMON AREA: 2.515 sqm
EVENTS AREA: 536 sqm

Cluster structure

The Fruits and Legumes Cluster contains areas cultivated with different varieties of fruit plants. Surrounding the main central square of this Cluster, the visitor is able to participate in and enjoy the events, which are inspired by the shapes, scents and colors of the large variety of fruits and legumes on offer.

Above the square, a wooden roof canopy covers the entire area and connects the pavilions. Around the exit, visitors will have the opportunity to walk around the market and perhaps purchase some of the tasty fruits and legumes that are on display. The market links this Cluster to the Spices Cluster, offering the visitor a natural path between the two, leading them nicely through to their next experience.

Essential to our diet

Fruits and legumes have been consumed for centuries and as a result have become the symbols of myths, legends and traditions in many cultures around the world. The story of fruit cultivation began in the Mediterranean region, mainly due to it having the best climate to grow and cultivate fruits. The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans were already aware of many varieties of fruit. However, it was only from the medieval period that an improvement in fruit cultivation really took hold and immigrants started bringing fruit and legumes to the American continents, resulting in the spread of fruit cultivation and a rapid growth in the trade of these foods.

Apart from soya and beans that were found in Central and Southern Asia and in Central America respectively, most legumes were grown and cultivated in the Mesopotamia and Mediterranean areas, again due to the climate that suits cultivation. Legumes represent the main food source in many emerging countries, due to their fundamental qualities that ensure food security. Legumes are an extremely important part of the food chain and due to their vitamin and mineral content may be used as a substitute for cereals in the agricultural rotation system, which helps prevent land depletion. Due to the high calorific content, legumes play a vital role in reducing poverty conditions within agricultural communities and generally improve health and nutrition across the world.

COUNTRIES IN THE CLUSTER

Gambia
Guinea
Benin
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Zambia

Fruits and Legumes