Amarelli, the licorice
A story within a story, a saga, that of the Amarelli family, which began around the year 1000 and continued through the centuries, including the Crusades, intellectual endeavors, and agriculture. A story to touch, read, listen to, and experience at the Giorgio Amarelli Licorice Museum.
Engravings, documents, books, period photographs, as well as agricultural tools, everyday objects, and splendid antique white dresses bear witness to the life of a family that values the underground branches of the licorice plants that grow wild on the Ionian coast, becoming the backdrop for a unique museum.
The large “Concio” space, dating back to 1731, perfectly conveys the passage of time between past and present. Accompanied by attentive museum assistants, you will discover the secrets of licorice processing, the sheaves of root ready for processing, the modern extraction equipment, the ancient cookers where the black licorice paste thickens, and the bronze dies that give it its shape and thickness. This tour of the production process, perpetually immersed in the sweet scent of licorice, is captivating for everyone, both adults and children, like the museum itself.
The chimney, bearing the initials of Baron Nicola Amarelli, rises imposingly from the ashlar roof, at whose base lies the “Open Air Museum,” featuring a truly unique exhibition of vintage industrial pieces. An unprecedented adventure that transports visitors to a thriving past and recounts the present of an excellent product, which can be enjoyed at the end of the tour in the Liquorice Shop and Museum Café.
From raw wooden sticks to pure licorice or licorice flavored with mint and anise, from orange, lemon, and violet gummies to delicately colored sugared almonds, our licorice comes in a variety of shapes and flavors. Finally, the “Alessandro Amarelli” Auditorium, a large space seating over one hundred, has always been an integral part of the late 18th-century complex. Today, it is a welcoming space, the beating heart of the Licorice Museum’s cultural life and events.
Tours are always guided, and in addition to Italian, they are conducted in the most widely spoken languages: French, English, and German, and upon request, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese. An unforgettable experience awaits you at the Giorgio Amarelli Licorice Museum.
Fonte: www.museodellaliquirizia.it
