Amore Amaro

The history of amaro

Amaro is linked to the traditions of Western European monastic living and the pursuit of knowledge of the natural world.

The monastic garden

The monasteries of antiquity and the medieval period — and the gardens inside — regained a small piece of the original paradise that the Biblical Adam had lost. Set apart from the world around them, these monasteries were protected by stonework, cultivation, and prayer.

The monastery of the 4th century Egyptian abbot Saint Isidore of Pelusium, who was an influence on Saint Benedict (himself a major influence on medieval monasticism), was described as having within its bounds “...many wells, well-watered gardens, and all the fruits and trees of paradise; it provided in abundance all that was necessary, so that the monks who lived, within never needed to go outside for anything.”¹

Monasteries were usually walled-off from their surroundings and contained all the necessities of life. Enclosure walls were built as “a fortress of Christian protest against a militantly pagan environment.”² Such cloistering ensured the devoted were withdrawn into a separate world, sheltered from temptation and distraction. It was deemed that all must be contained within the monastery walls, and Saint Benedict’s Rule states:

The monastery should, if possible, be so arranged that all necessary things, such as water, mill, garden, and various crafts may be situated within the enclosure, so that the monks may not be compelled to wander outside, for that is not at all expedient for their souls.³

Within the walls monks created crafted goods to sell, and grew their own food for subsistence; vegetable gardens are, in fact, the earliest monastic gardens on record.⁴ All concerns of food, medicine and were met by monks themselves on monastery grounds. Monks practiced horticulture and agriculture and not only tended to food crops, but grew medicinal plants as well. Spaces with plants cultivated purely for medicinal value, were called “physic gardens” and they were a common feature in monastic gardens.

The famous 7th century plan for the monastery dedicated to the Abbot of St. Gall includes drawings of and a plan for gardens, an orchard, a church, scriptorium, dormitory, brew house, infirmary, and numerous fields and out-buildings.⁵ Though never completed, the plan leaves a clear impression of what were considered the most important elements for inclusion in a monastery of that era. The plan depicts beds designed for what are still common vegetables today: onion, garlic, leeks, shallots, celery, parsley, coriander, chervil, dill, lettuce, poppy, radish, parsnip, cabbage and chard. Elsewhere on the grounds, a medical building is surrounded by a garden full of botanicals that were grown for the sake of medicine, including: costmary, cumin, Greek hay, fennel, Iris purple flag, lily, lovage, mint, pennyroyal, watercress, wild rose, rosemary, rue, sage, and summer savory.⁶

Most everything grown within monastic walls was believed to have beneficial properties beyond filling the belly. Even plants in the kitchen garden were thought to be partially medicinal. For instance, dill, lettuce, leek, radish, parsley and cabbage are all expounded upon by medical and spiritual texts of the times. They are all praised in both Hildegard von Bingen’s book, Physica,⁷ of various natural creatures, the first book concerning plants, written 12th century and considered the first book of scientific natural history in Germany, as well as the Antidotaruim Nicolai,⁸ of the same era, a medical book of herbal remedies and recipes that remained in use for 500 years, until well into the 18th century.

Scholars and gardeners

Some historians have painted a picture of medieval monastic gardeners as experimenters. In “The Medieval Garden and Its Role in Medicine,” Carmélia Opsomer-Halleux writes:

According to a romantic and oversimplified picture, the monastic garden provided… remedies for the monks and the poor peasants… [but in one exmaple] less than one-fifth of the plants are garden plants — most of them are wild or exotic.⁹

While texts from that era provide helpful insight into the development of knowledge and the evolution of practice, in all likelihood there was a gulf between the scholar working in the scriptorium and the gardener. In “The Medieval Monastic Garden,” Paul Meyvaert writes:

Every monastic library had a manuscripts containing treatises on plants and gardens, but in all probability they were very seldom consulted by the monastic gardener. What these books contained was a literary tradition having little or nothing to do with the practical side of horticulture.¹⁰

The cultivation of plants was a central part of monastic practice. Plants thought to have curative properties were preserved in alcoholic tinctures, and then combined in specific recipes to treat specific ailments. The medical practitioners creating these concoctions weren’t setting out to make delightful beverages to imbibe — they were treating human suffering using an imperfect understanding of anatomy and human health.

Modern commercialization

Over time, these bitter botanical liqueurs became part of the culinary culture of Europe. In Italy, they came to be referred to as amari (literally, “bitter”). Homemade macerations of herbs became a tradition, and in the late 1800s and early 20th century Italian pharmacies sold their own varieties.¹¹

Political suppression of monasteries by the Italian governments beginning in the mid-1800s caused the monks to seek outside sources of revenue. By the early 20th century, many monastaries had sold their proprietary recipes to distillers, who commercialized the product. After World War II, these products were marketed using modern advertising techniques, and many commercial brands became well established.

Amaro has remained a popular drink in Italy throughout modern history, and in recent years has become popular in the United States as both an ingredient in cocktails and enjoyed on its own.