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A fragrant tea “made in London“. An expensive perfume from Cologne. Royal candies from Nancy. All these have one thing in common: they need a mysterious fruit from the deep south of Italy – the bergamot. Bergamots belong to the family of the citrus fruits and grow under optimal climatic conditions only on a 100-km-long stretch of land between the mountains of the Aspromonte mountains and the Mediterranean in the south of Calabria – right in the tip of the boot just before Sicily. For some years now bergamots have also been cultivated on the Ivory Coast or in South America, but 95% of the world supply still grows in the valleys of the Aspromonte. Here the fruits produce a particularly valuable essence. Nevertheless, the Calabrian farmers find it difficult to get good prices. There are only a few wholesalers and they beat down the price. Farmers such as the former lawyer Ugo Sergi have founded a bio-cooperative. They are trying to sell the oil abroad directly without going through the wholesalers. Yet for some 30 years now chemical substances have been used increasingly in perfume and tea production. As a result the farmers in this remote region of Italy are struggling to promote their financial lifeline.