Borducan is the liquor of Sacro Monte based on extract of orange and herbs which was invented by Davide Bregonzio, a fighter under Garibaldi in 1872.

 

Its recipe has come down to us thanks to the tradition from father to son. Davide Bregonzio’s story is legendary: he fought at Marsala among the expedition of the One Thousand, wearing his red shirt in 1860, but he was from Varese by birth and an expert herbalist who produced a distillate called “ Ten herbs from Campo dei Fiori” at first.

 

During a travel to Algeria he could appreciate the local oranges and when he came back to Varese he decided to invent a new liquor, The Borducan. This was the misspelled word, given by Davide Bregonzio, of “Bortukal” that means orange as a color and fruit in Arabian. In 1872 “Caffè at Borducan” was opened in the very heart of Santa Maria del Monte village and the recipe became quickly successful coming down from every family descendant to the last one: Bruno Bregonzio, who is Davide’s grandchild.