Lacryma Christi () or Lachryma Christi of Vesuvius is the name of a

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...

type of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

produced on the slopes of

Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of s ...

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. White Lacryma Christi is made mainly from

Verdeca Verdeca is a white Italian wine grape variety that is primarily grown in Apulia in southern Italy where ampelographers believe that the grape may have originated. In Apulia, it is one of the main grapes in the ''Denominazione di origine contro ...

and Coda di Volpe grapes, with smaller proportions of

Falanghina Falanghina, also called Falanghina Greco, is a variety of wine grape, ''Vitis vinifera,'' used for white wines. It is an ancient grape variety which may have provided a basis for the classical Falernian wine, and has considerable character.winep ...

Caprettone Caprettone is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Campania region of southern Italy where it is a minor blending component in the ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) wine of Lacryma Christi bianco. Caprettone is also ...

J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 185 Allen Lane 2012 and

Greco di Tufo Greco is an Italian wine grape that may be of Greek origin. The name relates to both white ''(Greco bianco)'' and black ''(Greco nero)'' grape varieties. While there is more land area dedicated to ''Greco nero'', the ''Greco bianco'' is the gra ...

included. Red Lacryma Christi is made from

Piedirosso Piedirosso is a red Italian wine grape variety that is planted primarily in the Campania region. The grape is considered a specialty of the region, being used to produce wines for local and tourist consumption. Its name "piedirosso" means "red f ...

and Sciascinoso grapes. It is also, as archaeologists have discovered, the nearest equivalent to wine drunk by the Ancient Romans, having analysed microscopic residue left on the taps of the casks.

Origins of name

The name Lacryma Christi comes from an old myth that

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

, crying over

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...

's fall from heaven, cried his tears on the land and gave divine inspiration to the vines that grew there. The sides of Vesuvius are deeply scarred by past

lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or und ...

s, and its lower slopes are extremely fertile, dotted with villages and covered with vineyards.

Lacryma Christi in literature and media

Lacryma Christi is an old wine, frequently mentioned by poets and writers. Lacryma Christi was mentioned in the book by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

, ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Li ...

'', in

W. J. Turner Walter James Redfern Turner (13 October 1884 – 18 November 1946) was an Australian-born, English-domiciled writer and critic.McKenna, C. W. F., (1990). nlineTurner, Walter James Redfern (1884–1946), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' ...

's poem ''Talking with Soldiers'', in ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

'' by

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

, and by

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the ...

in his play '' Tamburlaine the Great, Part II''. The Irish periodical writer and journalist

William Maginn William Maginn (10 July 1794 – 21 August 1842) was an Irish journalist and writer. About Born at Cork he became a contributor to ''Blackwood's Magazine'', and after moving to London in 1824 became for a few months in 1826 the Paris correspond ...

mentions the wine amongst other spirits in his poem "Inishowen" c. 1822. In the late work of the German novelist

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he is best known toda ...

"Der Stechlin" (1898) the wine is mentioned to be served after lunch in a convent and is characterized to be of higher grade than a

Montefiascone Montefiascone is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Viterbo, in Lazio, central Italy. It stands on a hill on the southeast side of Lake Bolsena, about north of Rome. History The name of the city derives from that of the Falisci (''Mons Fa ...

Hart Crane Harold Hart Crane (July 21, 1899 – April 27, 1932) was an American poet. Provoked and inspired by T. S. Eliot, Crane wrote modernist poetry that was difficult, highly stylized, and ambitious in its scope. In his most ambitious work, '' The Brid ...

wrote a poem titled "Lachrymae Christi" included in his 1926 debut collection ''

White Buildings ''White Buildings'' was the first collection (1926) of poetry by Hart Crane, an American modernist poet, critical to both lyrical and language poetic traditions. The book features well-known pieces like "For the Marriage of Faustus and Helen," t ...

''. The Dutch novelist

Harry Mulisch Harry Kurt Victor Mulisch ( ; 29 July 1927 – 30 October 2010) was a Dutch writer. He wrote more than 80 novels, plays, essays, poems, and philosophical reflections. Mulisch's works have been translated into over thirty languages. Along with Wi ...

mentions the wine together with the island of

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...

in his 1987 novel ''The Pupil''. In the short story "Rappaccini's Daughter" collected in

Mosses from an Old Manse ''Mosses from an Old Manse'' is a short story collection by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1846. Background and publication history The collection includes several previously published short stories, and was named in honor of The Old Mans ...

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

, a glass of lachryma is drunk by the protagonist "which caused his brain to swim with strange fantasies". In the 1954 movie, '' Three Coins in the Fountain'', Lacryma Christi is mentioned as being the favorite wine of Prince Dino di Cessi, played by actor

Louis Jourdan Louis Jourdan (born Louis Robert Gendre; 19 June 1921 – 14 February 2015) was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Paradine Case'' (1947), '' Lette ...

. In

The Great Warrior Skanderbeg ''The Great Warrior Skanderbeg'' ( al, Luftëtari i madh i Shqipërisë Skënderbeu; russian: Великий воин Албании Скандербег, Velikiy voin Albanii Skanderbeg) is a 1953 Soviet-Albanian biopic directed by Sergei Yutk ...

, a Soviet-Albanian production of 1953, the wine is mentioned as a symbol of feudal luxury enjoyed by sybaritic enemies of the protagonist, the popular and prudent ruler of Albania who defeated Venice in the 1447-48 war and stalled the advance of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. When Skanderbeg's nephew,

Hamza Kastrioti Hamza Kastrioti ( la, Ameses Castriota) or Bernardo Kastrioti (after his conversion to Christianity), was a 15th-century Albanian nobleman and the nephew of George Kastrioti Skanderbeg. Probably born in Ottoman territory, after the death of his ...

, joins the Ottomans against his country, a Venetian diplomat tells him that "gifts from Venice have arrived in

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

for you: golden cups for your table, and the best wine of Venice, Lacryma Christi -- The Tears of Christ." In the title story of

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...

's 1964 collection

The Machineries of Joy ''The Machineries of Joy'' (1964) is a collection of short stories by American writer Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century America ...

, an Irish priest squabbles with his Italian colleague over space travel and its place in their faith; the two clerics reconcile over a bottle of Lacryma Christi while watching a televised rocket launch from Cape Canaveral. Jean-Paul Didierlaurent mentions the wine in his novel ''The reader on the 6.27'' (2014): "... getting drunk on Christ's tears was the best thing that could happen to a Christian."

Origins of name

Lacryma Christi in literature and media

References

Further reading