Averna, or Amaro Averna , has been the best-selling or second best-selling brand of Italian digestive bitter since the 1970s. See aperitif and digestive. It was founded in Sicily in 1868 when Salvatore Averna, a textile merchant from Caltanissetta, began producing a cordial at his country house at nearby Xiboli. According to company lore, it was based on a recipe given him by the head of the Capuchin abbey just up the road (the Abbazia di Santo Spirito), but since the last monk there died in 1904, this cannot be independently confirmed. In any case, it is not the only herbal liqueur founded at the time to claim monastic roots. See Bénédictine.
Averna added the famous Sicilian oranges and lemons to the bitter herbs and roots characteristic of Italian amari, making for a product that was still pleasant and sweet to the palate. Under the management of Salvatore’s son, Francesco, Averna first gained the favor of Sicilians and then, in 1895, a medal of recognition from the Italian king, Umberto I. In 1912, King Vittorio Emanuele III granted the company the coveted Royal Trademark.
By 1958, when the Averna family incorporated their business, it had become one of the leading amari in Italy and one of Sicily’s most successful businesses, although it would not begin exporting its product until the 1980s. At that point, Averna owned 25 percent of the Italian amaro market. All production remained at Xiboli (where a new facility was built in 1970) until 2010, when the brand moved all stages of production but the compounding of botanicals and alcohol to a new bottling facility in northern Italy. Then, in 2014, the Averna family sold the brand to Gruppo Campari. For now, at least, the compounding still occurs at Xiboli.
Amaro Averna. https://www.amaroaverna.com (accessed January 29, 2021).
De Luca, Saverio. “Il Gruppo Campari acquisisce la Fratelli Averna.” Gambero rosso, April 15, 2014. https://www.gamberorosso.it/notizie/il-gruppo-campari-acquisisce-la-fratelli-averna-firmato-l-accordo-per-103-7-milioni-di-euro/ (accessed January 29, 2021).
“Una forma secolare per un amaro genuine.” Corriere della sera, December 30, 1970, 22.
By: Leo Leuci