08/04/2018
Yatagan
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A visit to Verona
Uncommented fragrances No. 125
Sometimes you do something you really regret. Not just a little bit. But I don't want to cry, after all, this isn't about something really important in life. Thank God! Thank God! It's all about the fact that three years ago we travelled to Tuscany and Florence, I thought about visiting the Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella / Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Nuova, buying one of the fragrances there in the heart of the Santa Maria Novella factory and happily leaving again. But I was young (just under 50), it was too hot, there was too much to see, the cathedral was impressive, but less impressive than I expected, the city was too crowded and we had so much planned - and we left again without visiting the Farmacia and buying a fragrance. I have resigned myself to it, but occasionally I have felt something like remorse. When I drove to Lake Garda this summer and planned trips to Verona and Venezia, I received a hot tip from Ernstheiter, our Italy expert, that there is also a beautiful branch of Santa Maria Novelle in Verona. Of course, this is no substitute for the Farmacia itself, but Verona is a beautiful city, actually even a beautiful one, there is an elegant, clear pedestrian zone and in various side streets stylish perfumeries. Excursus: One is even among them, which sells a fantastic selection of niche fragrances in a similar atmosphere as the Farmacia in Firenze: dark wood, ancient shop windows, curved gold writing, ancient furnishings - and young hipsters as owners. But back to Santa Maria Novella: The exclusive boutique in Verona is not really impressive, but beautifully located and furnished in a simple and elegant way. The consultation was charming and nice and I could test everything I wanted. I had intended to buy one of the two lavender fragrances (Lavanda Imperiale or Lavanda Ambrata). The choice fell after consultation by the family and also in my own sense on Lavanda Ambrata, which despite the a little bit misleading name turns out fresher, than the somewhat classically traditional Lavanda Imperiale. I would call the former (Ambrata) green, the latter (Imperiale) blue, if you know what I mean.
Lavanda Ambrata is indeed herbaceous green, but not in the sense of a dense, all too spicy herbaceousness, as it occasionally occurs in lavender fragrances. At the beginning I also perceive citric, lighter tones, then very quickly a harmonious, discreetly light herbaceous lavender and then a somewhat warmer base, which I would never have identified as ambracious. Here on the site only lavender is mentioned as an ingredient, on the homepage the addition of amber / amber is added. But everything remains rather refreshing, light and bright. Thus the fragrance does justice to its classification as Eau de Cologne / Acqua di Colonia.
It should be remembered that the fragrances of the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella may be among the oldest in the world. The company legend knows of a monastic origin in 1221 (i.e. a monastic recipe; not guaranteed) and the foundation of Farmacia in 1621. In particular, the classic "Acqua di Colonia - Santa Maria Novella" is said to have been commissioned by Caterina de Medici to the monks before the brand was founded in 1533, even though the recipe is apparently not guaranteed either. After all: the tradition line is really long! By the way, the brand is not readily available in Germany and is generally only available from a very small number of selected perfumeries as a small selection from the large portfolio. After all, this is another important reason to go to Italy every now and then.
Sometimes you do something you really regret. Not just a little bit. But I don't want to cry, after all, this isn't about something really important in life. Thank God! Thank God! It's all about the fact that three years ago we travelled to Tuscany and Florence, I thought about visiting the Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella / Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Nuova, buying one of the fragrances there in the heart of the Santa Maria Novella factory and happily leaving again. But I was young (just under 50), it was too hot, there was too much to see, the cathedral was impressive, but less impressive than I expected, the city was too crowded and we had so much planned - and we left again without visiting the Farmacia and buying a fragrance. I have resigned myself to it, but occasionally I have felt something like remorse. When I drove to Lake Garda this summer and planned trips to Verona and Venezia, I received a hot tip from Ernstheiter, our Italy expert, that there is also a beautiful branch of Santa Maria Novelle in Verona. Of course, this is no substitute for the Farmacia itself, but Verona is a beautiful city, actually even a beautiful one, there is an elegant, clear pedestrian zone and in various side streets stylish perfumeries. Excursus: One is even among them, which sells a fantastic selection of niche fragrances in a similar atmosphere as the Farmacia in Firenze: dark wood, ancient shop windows, curved gold writing, ancient furnishings - and young hipsters as owners. But back to Santa Maria Novella: The exclusive boutique in Verona is not really impressive, but beautifully located and furnished in a simple and elegant way. The consultation was charming and nice and I could test everything I wanted. I had intended to buy one of the two lavender fragrances (Lavanda Imperiale or Lavanda Ambrata). The choice fell after consultation by the family and also in my own sense on Lavanda Ambrata, which despite the a little bit misleading name turns out fresher, than the somewhat classically traditional Lavanda Imperiale. I would call the former (Ambrata) green, the latter (Imperiale) blue, if you know what I mean.
Lavanda Ambrata is indeed herbaceous green, but not in the sense of a dense, all too spicy herbaceousness, as it occasionally occurs in lavender fragrances. At the beginning I also perceive citric, lighter tones, then very quickly a harmonious, discreetly light herbaceous lavender and then a somewhat warmer base, which I would never have identified as ambracious. Here on the site only lavender is mentioned as an ingredient, on the homepage the addition of amber / amber is added. But everything remains rather refreshing, light and bright. Thus the fragrance does justice to its classification as Eau de Cologne / Acqua di Colonia.
It should be remembered that the fragrances of the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella may be among the oldest in the world. The company legend knows of a monastic origin in 1221 (i.e. a monastic recipe; not guaranteed) and the foundation of Farmacia in 1621. In particular, the classic "Acqua di Colonia - Santa Maria Novella" is said to have been commissioned by Caterina de Medici to the monks before the brand was founded in 1533, even though the recipe is apparently not guaranteed either. After all: the tradition line is really long! By the way, the brand is not readily available in Germany and is generally only available from a very small number of selected perfumeries as a small selection from the large portfolio. After all, this is another important reason to go to Italy every now and then.
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