Bergamot production area is mainly limited to the Ionian coastal area in the province of Reggio to such an extent as to become a symbol of the entire area and the city. The area cultivated with bergamot consists of a flat coastal strip sheltered from the strong winds of the Strait of Messina thanks to the surrounding hills. The area, extending for about 150 km, is located on the tip of the boot of Calabria and the Italian peninsula and extends just above the Straits of Messina, about two kilometers far from the sea.
From the climatic point of view the area is characterized by a microclimate that climatic maps in the area classify as “temperate tropical moist” with winds medium / strong blowing for most of the year, hot summers without rain, early spring, late very rainy autumn, winters with daily temperatures almost always above ten degrees. The Area has an average of 300 sunny days a year.
Reggio Calabria and its Area is the best habitat for Bergamot. Nowhere else in the world there is a place where bergamot’s fruits grow with the same yield and quality of essence.
It is also cultivated in Ivory Coast, Argentina, Brazil, but the quality obtained essence is not comparable to that of the bergamot from Calabria.
Prefers clay-limestone soils and alluvial.
It is grown in three varieties: femminello, castagnaro and fantastic, especially for the fruits: the femminello is more productive, but it has smaller fruits of other variety and smooth, the castagnaro is vigorous with larger fruits and wrinkled, the fantastic is similar to femminello but with pear-shaped fruits.
Bergamotto di Calabria