The area given to Bergamot growing is about 1.500 hectares with an average crop of some 100.000 kg of essence.

To obtain one kilo of essence, about 200 kilos of fruits 4.000 workers employed in the business.

The first known Bergamot orchard was planted near Reggio Calabria (the only land where is produced the best essential oil) by Nicola Parisi in the 1750.

In those days the essence was extracted by hand, from the skin of the fruit and absorbed by natural sponges placed on special containers.

Nowadays it is extracted by abrasion though a system of "graters" in the peelers of the outside of the fruits.

In 1844 the first real industrialisation of  the extration process took place with the invention by Nicola Barillà of an extracting meccanism called "The Calabrian Machine" wich was capable of guaranteeing not only high output in a short time, but also an excellent quality essence.