At the end of the eighteenth century the Riviera between Portofino and Marseille is renowned for producing the best soap in the world. Master soap-makers settled there, attracted by the quality of the raw materials available: olive oil and natural soda harvested from the ashes of marine plants.
Virgilio Valobra adopts the open-air boiler method from Marseille: after cooking, the unfinished flakes of soap are left to mature for six months (this way water content minimizes, leaving a highly concentrated product). Once dried out, the flakes are treated with precious ingredients, like essences, vitamins and perfume.
Now the soap is ready to be manually cut into single pieces and embossed with the company’s mark with a special printing machine.
The soap must be stored in a dry place if it's not used immediately. Further maturing, rather than ruining them, increases their quality and durability.