Acqua di Fiori di Arancio Amaro

Vallebona is one of the narrow Ligurian valleys running up from the sea, a twisting road along the bottom and dry-stone terraces up the sides. Until a few decades ago those terraces carried orange trees, mostly bitter orange, with roses and lavender, thyme and rosemary. Grasse is not far over the French border, and these towns have a long habit of distilling scented waters and essential oils for the perfumers. The Guglielmi family opened a distillery at Vallebona in 1865 and closed it in the early 1960s; the Vacca distillery at Ventimiglia worked until recently and the Postiglietto at Borghetto San Nicolò, near Bordighera, has been shut for many years.