The recipe for an ancient medicinal preparation, believed to have been lost for many years, was discovered by chance in a small notebook, along with the memories of those who had known that product. This marks the beginning of the new life of Ferrochina del Moro, a true alchemy to drink made from eight herbs found in the diverse biodiversity of the Pollino National Park, the largest in Italy, which today boasts one of the richest botanical heritages in Europe, particularly concerning aromatic and medicinal herbs. A true bitter with a local soul, it is the product of the oldest Ferro-China Caterini, named after its first producer, Carmine Caterini, who in 1892 created a product that became so successful it made headlines in the newspapers of the time.
In a lengthy article from May 14, 1894, in "La Nuova Rivista," it praised the «blood-reconstituting properties, containing the properties of China and iron-based preparations
» referring to this preparation as a liquor «recommended by medical celebrities to combat chlorosis, anemia, lack of appetite, pale complexions, and headaches». Signing off on the benefits and properties of Ferro-China Caterini were Dr. Giuseppe Zagari, at the time the director of the laboratory of Professor Cardarelli at the University of Naples, and Dr. Salvatore Tommaselli, director of the Medical Clinic at the University of Catania.
It was a liqueur capable of uniting medicine and pleasure, becoming a symbol of modernity as early as the late nineteenth century.
In those years, Ferro China Caterini gained such notoriety that it was even distributed in the United States, as evidenced by a document found informing about the storage and sale of the product at the retail outlet "Scanderberg Di Lorenzo" in Paterson - State of New York.
Today that ancient recipe, awarded in Palermo in 1916 during the National Hygiene Exhibition with the Grand Cross and Gold Medal as the "Sovereign Restorative of the Blood", comes back to life thanks to the passion and commitment of three pharmacist brothers Luigi, Carlo, and Gianluca Filpo and their families, children of Dr. Ortensia Caterini Filpo, granddaughter of Carmine Caterini, who always spoke in life about this particular drink prepared by their grandfather. When the recipe surfaced, it was as if the circle of family tradition was meant to have a new completion.
What was once a liqueur, the very first to be made with the salt of a metal, predominantly with iron citrate and chin bark, mixed with other herbs and sugar concentrates to increase its alcohol content, today comes back in a modern key as a distilled spirit with a significant alcohol base (40 degrees), with almost no sugary content but the muscular and versatile character imparted by the native botanicals (Aloe, Angelica, Wormwood, Gentian, Marjoram, Mint, Rhubarb, Veronica) that strongly define the product's identity as the alchemy of Pollino, obviously combined with chin and iron (Ammonium Citrate).
The new Ferrochina del Moro is a tradition that is reborn with a contemporary soul.
A story in continuity with the past but with a modern and contemporary spirit that still passes through the counters of a pharmacy, where the product is still sold to the public today. First, the Pharmacy of Moro, the ancient name of what is now the Caterini Filpo Pharmacy, recognizable by "Gaper" (a wooden head representing a Moor with a tablet in its mouth, used since the 1700s in front of drugstores to indicate the arrival of medicinal products from the East) which, in its new form, Ferrochina, has become the symbol of a product that is now an ambassador of Pollino and its extraordinary biodiversity.
Behind the success of this alchemy is the production work of the "Antiche Distillerie delle Vigne" of the Valentini family from Castrovillari and the creative direction of Salvatore Dessì, an architect and friend of the Filpo family, who designed the logo and packaging, taking inspiration from a square-shaped bottle reminiscent of those used in pharmacies of the past.
An alchemy that today unites pharmacy, territory, and innovation.
To be consumed chilled to emphasize its digestive properties or diluted in hot water to appreciate its balsamic qualities, Ferrochina del Moro has today fully entered the world of mixology, proving versatile for many preparations, but above all it has captured the interest of many chefs who use it in their dishes for delicious recipes.
