Poecítrics
Verses among citrus trees
A garden for words
Poecítrics is a poetry festival born in 2023, amidst citrus trees, as a tribute to the legacy of Vicent Todolí and Francisco Brines—two figures united by their commitment to the land and culture. While Todolí has created the world’s largest private citrus collection, Brines transformed his Elca garden (Oliva) into one of the most symbolic spaces in contemporary poetry. The festival brings together these two perspectives.
Under the artistic direction of poet Àngels Gregori, the festival offers a unique literary experience where nature and words intertwine.
Each spring, the El Bartolí botanical orchard, headquarters of Todolí Citrus Fundació, becomes a stage for poetic voices from various generations and places, reciting their verses surrounded by citrus varieties from all corners of the world. The Mediterranean landscape and the scent of orange blossoms accompany each reading, evoking the memory of the land and the transformative power of language.
Poecítrics is a Mediterranean song that celebrates the beauty of citrus fruits and the strength of poetry. Todolí Citrus Fundació thanks the generous contributions of institutions, companies, and members of the Friends&Friends program, which make it possible to offer free admission to this event.
The Landscape Consciousness
The third edition of Poecítrics, a festival that fuses poetry with nature, has arrived. In this meeting, which will take place on 14 June at the Huerto Botánico El Bartolí, the Foundation’s headquarters, verses are intertwined with the fresh scent of citrus fruits and the serenity of the natural landscape. This year, under the theme The Landscape Consciousness, we explore how poetry connects us with the space we inhabit.
Poecítrics invites us to stop and rediscover the landscape that surrounds us, based on awareness. One of the main purposes of our Foundation is the protection and defence of the environment, especially through the conservation of the Valencian agricultural landscape, a heritage that forms part of our identity and that, today more than ever, needs to be cared for and preserved.
Citrus Poetry
On Saturday, May 25, 2024, the El Bartolí botanical orchard once again became an open-air stage for poetic expression with the celebration of the second edition of Poecítrics. Under the artistic direction of poet Àngels Gregori, the gathering brought together three outstanding voices of contemporary poetry: Mario Obrero, Maria Sevilla, and Josep Piera, who read their verses surrounded by orange trees, citrons, kumquats, grapefruits, lemon trees…
Organised by the Todolí Citrus Fundació, the festival once again celebrated the connection between landscape, word, and memory in a garden that houses nearly five hundred citrus varieties from all over the world. As Gregori reminded us in the programme’s foreword: “Here, the singer meets the storyteller: the poet who immortalises the beauty of the fruit, and Vicent Todolí, who gives voice to the land.”
Verses Among Citrus
On April 29, 2023, the very first edition of Poecítrics was held in the open air at the gardens of the Todolí Citrus Fundació, in the town of Palmera (Valencia). The event, jointly organized with the Francisco Brines Foundation, brought together three acclaimed voices of contemporary poetry —Juan Carlos Mestre, María Eloy-García, and Mario Obrero— in a unique botanical setting featuring more than 500 citrus varieties from around the world.
Conceived as a tribute to two key figures in Mediterranean culture and landscape —Vicent Todolí and Francisco Brines— Poecítrics was born to weave together words and territory, evoking the emotional memory of the garden, the land, and its fruits. While Todolí has dedicated his life to the preservation and study of citrus fruits, Brines transformed his garden in Elca into one of the most symbolic spaces of contemporary Spanish poetry. This first edition brought their two legacies into conversation.
