In his series on bitter spirits, this issue Claudio Bedini takes us to Sicily to better understand Southern amari.
Words by Claudio Bedini
Photography by Chris Pearce
Italy’s amari can’t be understood without understanding the places they come from. Climate, history and local botanicals have shaped distinctive styles across the country, each reflecting the character of its region.
Southern Italy is a landscape shaped by sun, sea and citrus.
Warm sea breezes sweep across olive groves, volcanic slopes and Mediterranean scrub, where rosemary, bay, myrtle and wild fennel grow almost effortlessly under the southern sun.
Here, the aromas are more intense, the climate warmer, and that warmth finds its way into the glass. The character of Southern amari reflects the landscape they come from.
Like many traditional products, amaro was born from what people found around them. Local herbs, roots, flowers and fruit became the foundation of recipes passed down through generations. In Southern Italy, that meant not only aromatic herbs, but also an abundance of citrus. Bitter orange, bergamot, chinotto and lemon peel weren’t simply added for freshness, they became part of the bitterness itself. Their essential oils contribute both fragrance and structure, creating amari that feel bright and expressive while remaining rich and complex.
In Sicily, however, the landscape tells only part of the story.
Over the centuries, different cultures left their mark on the island, but few shaped it more profoundly than the Arabs. Their advances in irrigation transformed agriculture, expanding the cultivation of citrus alongside spices and aromatic botanicals, leaving a legacy that still echoes through Sicilian food and drink. Many of the flavours we now associate with Sicilian amari owe as much to this rich cultural exchange as they do to the island’s climate.
That story is still being written today. On the slopes of Mount Etna, producers such as Amara and Citrange continue to look to the land for inspiration, building their recipes around blood oranges, mandarins and lemons grown in volcanic soils, layered with the wild herbs that flourish on the mountain. They are contemporary expressions of a legacy that has shaped Sicilian bitterness for centuries.
But perhaps no amaro better reflects Sicily’s enduring bittersweet tradition than Averna. Legend has it that the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Santo Spirito entrusted their herbal recipe to Salvatore Averna in 1868, carrying generations of local botanical knowledge beyond the monastery walls.
Under the guidance of his son Francesco, the amaro grew in popularity across Italy, eventually earning the patronage of the House of Savoy. By 1912, Averna had been granted the right to display the Royal House’s coat of arms on its label, a fitting recognition for an amaro that had come to embody the flavours of Sicily.
Today, that same spirit of innovation extends beyond amaro. Sicily’s vibrant wine scene has also embraced the island’s botanical heritage, giving rise to creations that blur the lines between wine, aperitivo and bitter liqueur.
One such example is Naturale, born from collaboration between acclaimed winemaker Giusto Occhipinti, founder of Azienda Agricola COS in Vittoria, and Simone Sabaini, the mastermind behind Sabadì organic chocolate in Modica. Built around Sicilian wine, citrus and botanicals from the slopes of Etna, their vermouths and bitters offer a modern interpretation of the island’s bittersweet identity.
More than a century later, Sicily continues to express itself through bitterness in much the same way it always has, through its landscape, history and the people who interpret both.
A taste of the Mediterranean, poured into a glass.