The ‘chinotto from Savona’ is a typical Ligurian fruit. It is a small round, bright green citrus which, when it ripes, becomes yellow-orange and is almost completely seedless.The chinotto is a citrus and, although its origin has not been exactly ascertained, the opinion of some researchers is that it came from a mutation of the bitter orange that over time developed in the chinotto species known today.





Some researchers believe that the chinotto owes its name to China, a place from which, according to a legend, it would have been imported by the end of the fifteenth or early sixteenth century by a Ligurian merchant. This legend says that it was imported by a Savonese navigator from these territories and found its ideal habitat on the Ligurian Riviera in the area between Savona and Finale Ligure. And it is in Savona that at the end of the 1800s was founded the “Società dei fabbricanti di chinotti” (Chinotti producers association) which provided both the cultivation and the sale of the fruits.

The chinotto plant has leafy branches

According to some botanists, the fruit comes from the Mediterranean Sea area and, in this case, the name could only mean that it is a “Chinese-style” fruit. To date, in fact, there is no evidence on any kind of cultivation of this plant in Asian countries. Apart from Italy (Liguria, Tuscany, Sicily and Calabria), its presence is limited to sporadic appearances on the French Riviera where the climate is exactly the same as in Liguria.

These small bitter fruits are traditionally used to produce marmalade, drinks and syrups. It is believed that the aroma of this bitter orange has the power to kill germs and preserve the health.


In the past the chinotto fruits were consumed together with alcoholic beverages (such as wines or absinthe) as an aperitif, while today they are sometimes found candied and eaten as dessert.

Its bitter juice is an ingredient of many digestive and various bitter drinks. Most often, however, chinotto juice is used for the production of the homonymous drink. The chinotto drink is a brown-color bitter soda usually served in glass bottles.

Chinotto from Savona drink is sold worldwide

As part of the Slow Food movement, which is aimed at maintaining and promoting local organic products as well as culinary traditions, some shops selling chinotto products are opening up around Liguria. I visited one of these specialty shops and its kind owner showed me some chinotto plants growing in the backyard of the shop. He also taught me that some of the products derived from this citrus are: mustard, honey, beer and sauce.

Recently, chinotto has become a protected crop and since 2004, the Chinotto from Savona has become part of the Slow Food Presidium in order to promote its cultivation nationwide.