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Farmacopea Popolare & Andrea Bolla

- Where spirits become stories, and the South reveals its flavour one botanical at a time

The day we met Andrea

Some encounters feel accidental but end up shaping the rhythm of your life in Salento. We met Andrea Bolla — or Andrew Ball, as we call him — in Parabita, on an ordinary day in the piazza. He approached us with a small smile, an unmistakable spark in his eyes, and a simple question: “Do you want to try the best gin in town?”

We did.

And that moment became the beginning of a friendship, a collaboration, and one of our favourite rituals at Palazzo Piccinno.

Andrea is from Matino, but his small workshop — the beating heart of Farmacopea Popolare — sits right here in Parabita, just steps from where we welcome our guests every morning.

And just like that, we became neighbours.
And then collaborators.
And then friends.

Farmacopea Popolare — A spirit of the South

Andrea named his project Farmacopea Popolare as an ode to old southern remedies — not the kind found in pharmacies, but the wisdom passed down in kitchens, gardens, and countryside traditions.

His spirits carry that philosophy: simple ingredients elevated with precision, patience, and a profound respect for the land.

The Gin — the one that changed everything

This was the first bottle we tasted — the one he held in the piazza the day we met.

Andrea’s gin is unmistakably Salentino:

wild juniper gathered from Mediterranean scrub
citrus peel from Puglian groves
botanicals that grow low, tough, and aromatic under the southern sun

It’s not trying to imitate anything from London or the Alps. It tastes like here — like heat after sunset, like pine and stone, like fresh herbs pressed between your fingers. A gin that feels both familiar and quietly rebellious.

The Bitter — the South through its sharpest flavours
His bitter is a study in balance: bright, herbal, and unmistakably rooted in Puglia’s landscape of wild plants and persistent winds.
It draws on the tradition of southern amari but strips away heaviness, giving instead:

clean bitterness
botanical depth
a citrus edge that lifts everything

The result is a bitter that feels modern, energetic, and deeply local. Perfect on its own, perfect in a spritz, perfect for long conversations under warm evenings.

The Vermouth — a southern reinterpretation
Perhaps his most poetic creation, Andrea’s vermouth is a bridge between tradition and experimentation. Built on wine, herbs, roots, and citrus, it is:

aromatic without being perfumed
warm but not sweet
layered like a story told slowly

You can taste the countryside in it — the dried herbs, the sun on the vines, the hint of earth lifted by subtle spice.
It is the kind of vermouth that stands on its own, without needing a cocktail to justify it.

Together, these three spirits form a small but complete world — a Farmacopea in the truest sense: remedies for the soul, bottled with devotion.

Why these bottles matter to us

We serve Andrea’s spirits exclusively at Palazzo Piccinno not because exclusivity sounds elegant, but because these bottles feel like they belong here. We believe in the integrity of the flavour: nothing hidden, nothing exaggerated, just ingredients doing exactly what they were meant to do. And in his process, we recognise something of ourselves — that insistence on moving slowly, intentionally, caring deeply about the person on the other side of the experience. Over time, Andrea has become part of our daily life: we cross paths in the piazza, we share ideas. He is a neighbour who became a friend, and that friendship has shaped the character of our home. Serving his spirits at Palazzo Piccinno feels like sharing a part of Parabita that not everyone gets to see.

Why Farmacopea Popolare is meaningful for Parabita — and for Puglia

In a region known for wine, olive oil, and ancient culinary traditions, Andrea’s spirits are something new — but not disconnected. They carry the botanicals of the land, the temperament of the South, and the patience of a rural culture that has always known how to wait for things to mature. Yet within that tradition, Andrea introduces a quiet form of innovation: a modern distilling language shaped by Puglian botanicals, a way of transforming local plants into contemporary spirits that feel both familiar and unexpected.

Parabita is a small town, but Andrea proves what small towns can hold: talent that doesn’t shout, craft that doesn’t need to travel far to become meaningful, creativity rooted in humility. His workshop is a tiny universe where Puglia becomes flavour — where old knowledge and new ideas meet in bottles that tell the story of this land in a fresh, thoughtful way.

This is why we proudly share it with our guests. It is a way of saying: Look closer. Salento is full of small miracles — some distilled quietly, just around the corner.

Practical Info

Location: Parabita, Puglia — minutes from Palazzo Piccinno
Founder: Andrea Bolla (Andrew Ball)
Products: Gin, Bitter, Vermouth — small-batch, botanically driven
Where to enjoy it: In selected cocktails at Palazzo Piccinno, crafted to showcase Andrea’s spirits. You can also ask for it in the local bars in town, they will be happy to serve you a cocktail with Andrea's creations.
Where to buy it: Available at local shops such as Salentusole and Dispenseria in Parabita

The photographs in this story were captured by our dear friends Anja and Sandro from WeAreOyster — whose eye for quiet beauty mirrors the way we experience Salento.

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