Savona Chinotto: The Story of a Citrus Fruit That Almost Changed the World

A small fruit with a great history

Its origins are distant, leading straight to China, but its love affair with Savona began around 1500, when a navigator from Savona transplanted it to the Ligurian coast. From that moment on, on this small strip of Ligurian coast between Varazze and Finale Ligure, the chinotto found its promised land—adapting to the climate, transforming, and acquiring unique organoleptic characteristics unmatched by any other variety in the world.

It grows on an evergreen tree that can reach 3 meters in height and develops an incredible quantity of fruit and flowers on its few branches. During harvest time, between September and November, you can see clusters of chinotto oranges among the leaves, small and bright green, which, over time, turns orange.

From medicine to national costume icon

The remedy against scurvy

Discovered and imported by a navigator from Savona in 1500, it was known as an amulet that warded off disease from ships, thanks to its great therapeutic properties, ideal for fighting scurvy and other diseases, while also instilling vigor and energy. For centuries, the Savona chinotto was sold almost exclusively as a medicine—the main customers were England, France, and Russia.

The meeting with the candied fruit

The first candying workshop in Liguria dates back to 1877, when Silvestre-Allemand moved to Savona from the city of Apt in southeastern France, where it had been operating since 1780. The characteristics of the Savona chinotto—small size, thick, fragrant skin, and early ripening—made it ideal for candying, and within a few years, many local establishments opened, honing the French art, creating a pastry tradition that became famous throughout Europe.

In the cafes of Paris and in every bar in Italy

Once upon a time, in many Italian and French cafés, on the sales counter, you could find a jar with a majolica spoon full of small green citrus fruits immersed in Maraschino: they were chinotti from Savona, famous and unique for their quality, aroma and excellent as a digestive.

Coca-Cola's antagonist

The autarchic drink of the 1930s and 1940s became an icon of rebirth and the dolce vita, only to rival the ever-popular Coca-Cola in the 1970s and 1980s as a symbol of protest against capitalism. Politically transversal, it won the hearts of all generations and became an unforgettable emblem of social customs.

The crisis and the risk of extinction

This product's success continued until the 1920s, when short-sighted economic policies and an unusual succession of winter frosts marked the beginning of the crisis. In the heart of Savona alone, in the early 1900s, over 55,000 chinotto trees were planted. Then, frosts, urbanization, and agricultural abandonment reduced cultivation to almost nothing. The plant risked extinction.

The Rebirth: Slow Food Presidium and "City of Chinotto"

The Slow Food Presidium since 2004

In 2004, the Slow Food Presidium for Chinotto di Savona was founded: thanks to the passion of a few enthusiasts, cultivation of the original Chinotto di Savona slowly revived, but demand and fame for the fruit quickly returned. Those who still had Chinotto trees in their gardens and plots joined the project, with the aim of promoting these crops and reclaiming land for new plants of authentic Savona Chinotto.

The Citrus Garden at Priamar

In 2019, a new jewel was added to the Chinotto crown: the "Citrus Garden," inaugurated in the Priamar Monumental Complex as part of the European project "A Sea of Citrus." A place to immerse yourself in the history and aromas of this small, great Ligurian treasure.

How is Savona chinotto consumed today?

Too bitter to be consumed fresh, the chinotto of Savona is best expressed in various forms:

• Candied — the most traditional form, the result of a long and laborious process that begins with immersion in brine and ends in syrups of increasing concentration
• In syrup or maraschino — the classic way of 19th-century coffee, excellent as a digestive
• Jam — with an intense aroma and an unmistakable sweet and sour taste
• Carbonated soft drink — the most nationally known legacy, with its characteristic bitter aftertaste
• Craft beer — the most recent frontier, with several breweries in the Savona area using chinotto as a characterising ingredient

Where to taste and buy it in Savona

The easiest place to encounter chinotto in its most authentic form is the cafes in the city center, on Via Paleocapa. The Civic Market and the food shops in the historic center also offer jams, syrups, and derivatives made by Slow Food Presidium producers.