Eleven aromatic plants (lavender, thyme, winter savory, rosemary, sage, peppermint, chanomile, Roman chamomile, French tarragon, bitter and sweet fennel), typical of the Mediterranean area, were grown in Northern Italy and their essential oils obtained by steam distillation. The distilled oils were analysed for their antibacterial activities against 25 microorganisms and also for any antioxidant properties. The chemical composition of the essential oils was related to their effectiveness. Thyme and winter savory oils exhibited the greatest inhibition against the growth of all the tested organisms possibly due to the high content of thymol and carvacrol respectively. The Roman chamomile oil exhibited the highest antioxidant activity.