Perfumes and cosmetics made from Calabrian products

Thanks to its Mediterranean biodiversity, Calabria is a land rich in scents and aromas. The scents of Calabria are now among the objects of desire of the largest international perfume houses. Some examples?

Fresh essences of orange blossom, primarily from Reggio Calabria Bergamot, overlap with the sweet notes of Calabrian Jasmine, Pollino Lavender and the highly prized Rose from Roseto Capo Spulico, to name but a few.

Ready to capture the scents of Calabria?

The world of Calabrian fragrances and natural cosmetics is extremely fascinating, not only for enthusiasts of the genre, but for anyone who, during a holiday in the region, wishes to take home a sample of its Mediterranean essences, as a personal souvenir or gift. With its 3 National Parks, the Serre Regional Park, countless Nature Reserves and two coastlines, the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian, it is easy to understand the reasons for the extraordinary biodiversity that characterises Calabrian flora: from the scents of the undergrowth and mountain herbs to the essences of coastal flowers, such as those that grow along the Costa degli Dei (VV) and the Costa dei Gelsomini (RC).

These flowers have precious organoleptic properties and have been the subject of study, attention, protection, extraction and packaging by the world's leading cosmetics and perfumery companies for many years. The history of Calabrian fragrances is a seductive one, beginning way back in 1686 and intertwining deliciously with the history of pastry-making, an idyllic combination!

It all began when a famous Sicilian ice cream maker, Francesco Procopio Cutò, opened the oldest café in Europe, the Café Procope, in Paris. among the house specialities, the Café served ice cream, sorbets and syrups flavoured with Calabrian bergamot, an essence that immediately caught the attention of his neighbour, the French apothecary who was the first to transform bergamot flowers into one of the most prized essences in perfumery.

Today, "Bergamot from Reggio Calabria – Essential Oil" is a PDO designation found in many designer cosmetics and perfumes, including Guerlain's dedicated line. But it's not just bergamot! Calabria's fragrances are varied and range in their use of raw materials from across the region. Let's discover the most important ones...

So you don't know, my beautiful lady, that in every exotic and international perfume, if it wants to be a classy perfume, you will find the product of Mr Bergamot. This plant-based fixative, born in one of the most beautiful corners of the world, from a poetic tree with an excellent aroma, is itself a true perfume.

Kazimiera Alberti (The Soul of Calabria, 1949)  

Writers, artists and travellers of all ages have gone to great lengths to obtain a few drops: Gabriele D'Annunzio claimed he could not do without it to win over his lovers. Calabrian Bergamot is unique: the result of a spontaneous mutation undergone by the lemon (lime) or bitter orange in the area around Reggio Calabria, bergamot, also known as "Green gold", reveals its secrets at the Citrus Museum in Reggio Calabria, one of Calabria's corporate museums where you can admire the machinery used. While the 'star' of the museum is the famous Gangeri Bergamot Machine, derived from a model invented in 1840 by Nicola Barillà from Reggio, the photographic section is no less impressive, as it documents in detail the cultivation, harvesting and processing of two other important flowers used in Calabrian fragrances: poppy and jasmine.

The last one, still the protagonist of the wonderful landscapes of the Costa dei Gelsomini, is at the origin of a memorable historical event that took place along the coast in the 1950s and 1960s: the strike of the gelsominaie, the Calabrian Jasmine pickers, which at the time was extracted and processed at the Experimental Essence Station in Brancaleone.

Another unique coastline for the production of essences is the one that falls within the Costa degli Dei Regional Marine Park, in the province of Vibo Valentia. This is home to the highly original Garden of the Gods, a public park that can be visited free of charge in the municipality of Ricadi, on the splendid terrace overlooking the sea at Capo Vaticano (Belvedere dei Cannoni). The garden represents a true act of recovery and restoration of a green space to the community, the work of the Calabrian brand 'Acqua degli Dei' eau de parfum, one of Calabria's most renowned perfumes, in collaboration with the municipal administration. It is a landscaping project that safeguards and restores local biodiversity through the selection of 25 endemic medicinal and cosmetic species.

Have you ever heard of the ancient Roses of Roseto Capo Spulico? To appreciate them in all their splendour, before they are harvested, we recommend visiting the Village of Roses and Cherries in spring, between the end of April and the beginning of June. It is during this season that the renowned roses that give the entire area its name (Rosetum) bloom. The rose gardens surrounding the town of Roseto Capo Spulico, along the Costa degli Achei in the province of Cosenza, have truly legendary origins: it seems that their soft petals were used to fill the pillows of the sybaritic princesses in the ancient Greek colony of Sybaris (whose ruins now form the Sibaritide National Archaeological Park). Today, the Rose of Roseto Capo Spulico, replanted by a young virtuous entrepreneur, is the basis of a delicate but persistent rose water, one of Calabria's most evocative scents.

Did you know that Campotenese, a hamlet of the village of Morano Calabro in the province of Cosenza, is known as the "Provence of Calabria"? It's not hard to imagine why! This is where Calabria's special Lavender is grown: a native species that grows on the slopes of the Pollino National Park and is called Lavanda Loricata (referring to the Loricato Pine, symbol of the park), or 'Loricanda' to its friends! To admire its extraordinary flowering, we recommend visiting the Campotenese Lavender Park between the end of June and the end of August: during these months, the lavender turns the entire hill purple, spreading its unmistakable scent in the air. The same scent of Calabria that you can buy on site, along with many other lavender-based cosmetic products, from soaps to body creams.