Amaro San Simone

Amaro San Simone, today produced by the company of the same name, takes its name from a brotherhood of monks that existed in Turin in the 16th century in the Dora Grossa district (now Via Garibaldi). Scholars of natural sciences and astronomy were recognized as highly knowledgeable about the medicinal properties of plants, their fruits, and their roots. The ancient Depurativo San Simone, in effect the ancestor of today's bitter, was produced here until the 1940s. The Depurativo, produced by the Antica Officina Farmaceutica San Simone based on a formula dating back to 1583, was distributed in pharmacies in Turin and Piedmont to treat seasonal ailments, at a time when the world pharmacopoeia was very different from today's, more artisanal and less industrialized.

Although of pharmaceutical origin, this bitter is not a specific medicine, with its associated limitations, but rather an excellent liqueur, enjoyed and beneficial by all. It is made from 39 selected herbs and roots, mostly from the surrounding area, recognized for their tonic properties, including gentian, wormwood, and rhubarb.