The company

The history of the Amedeo GIOVANNI SRL company in Reggio Calabria dates back to 1890, when Giovanni Amedeo’s grandfather decided to start the business of extracting essential oils from citrus fruits.
In those times, the extraction was done exclusively by hand, using special tools, known as “tools of the trade”, which Giovanni still keeps as a reminder of those days, which were both difficult and beautiful: the knives to cut the fruit in half, named “cavatori” – sharp spoons to remove the pulp and separate it from the skins – and the “sea sponges” to absorb the oil from the skins, from which the essence was then extracted.

The sponges, which absorbed the precious essential oil of the citrus fruit from the peels, were then squeezed into a terracotta container, releasing an emulsion which, left to decant, gave the famous “sponge essence” which, in the variants of Orange, Lemon, Bergamot and others, was sold and appreciated all over the world.
From those early years to today, the company has gone through the life of the family that founded it, and has seen the ups and downs of national and world economic history, reaching the present day in which Giovanni’s sons – members of the new management – continue with the same passion as their predecessors to keep the company firmly stable, renewing and improving it every day: citrus fruits are now an integral part of their history and their life, after 120 years of activity.