This Refreshing Italian Beverage Will Take Courage To Sample

Though typical lemonade stands may seem innocuous enough, visitors to Naples, Italy, may want to approach some of them with caution. These aren't your neighborhood hawkers selling paper cups of lemonade. In this city, it isn't uncommon to see pedestrians bent over, legs apart, holding fizzing drinks that topple onto the sidewalk. This exploding lemonade, affectionately called limonata a cosce aperte, can be roughly translated to mean "open legs lemonade." Though curious sounding, the naming is appropriate, particularly if you're wearing clothes you don't want to see soaked.

Street vendors selling this drink add a spoonful of baking soda to a glass filled with sparkling water and a squeeze of lemon before handing the beverage over to the buyer. Once this bubbling, frothy drink is in the hands of the brave drinker, it is up to that daring individual to determine the best course of action. And no, a straw does not accompany this erupting, lemony concoction. You'll be left to your own devices. 

Even with more modern appliances at the ready, the vendors operating the kiosks selling the frothy lemonade have maintained older tools to hand-squeeze lemons to make the drink. Cosce aperte is made with lemons native to the area, called Sorrento lemons, which are known for their flavor that makes Italian limoncello so unique. These large, juicy lemons yield a pleasant aroma and can be a touch sweeter than other varieties. While we don't exactly know when limonata a cosce aperte first caused thirsty pedestrians to widen their stance, some believe its origins can be traced back to the 1700s. Regardless, this practice is still very much alive and well in Italy.

The bubbly cosce aperte is often enjoyed as a non-alcoholic digestif, or after-dinner drink. Most drinkers–even without knowing the translated name of the drink–choose to open their stance in an effort to keep their outfit clean, allowing the erupting drink to fall onto the ground before eventually reaching their lips. For those successful enough to taste the wild concoction, a refreshing beverage awaits.