Pineapples Reach Europe

1515

The Portuguese court received the first pineapples brought from Brazil by ship, a spiky, sweet novelty no European had ever seen. Botanical gardens began trying to cultivate them in glasshouses. For centuries the pineapple would remain the emblem of tropical abundance and exotic luxury. The fruit's rarity made it a status symbol, and its image appeared in paintings and architecture as a signifier of exotic luxury.