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The scent of sin
White Duke is inspired by the fascinating figure of Gabriele D'Annunzio and makes me feel the atmosphere of the first decades of the 20th century - just as I imagine it.
A perfume that, after a brief citrus and spicy opening, is marked by the prominence of the sweet sensuality of Amber and the mystery of incense. With good duration (about 12h) it has moderate projection. The balsamic oponax seasoned with patchouli is a plus for my taste. The drydown on the skin is smooth and sweet. Just like D'Annunzio, it is a provocative, seductive fragrance, triggering strong sensations.
It is irresistible to remember Gabriele D'Annunzio who was not only a great Italian poet, writer (The Triumph of Death) and playwright. Alongside his literary career, he developed an eccentric political career. Protagonist of a life of excess, d’Annunzio made aestheticism his own lifestyle (his life motto), always seeking new sensations. With the declared intention of establishing modern narrative prose in Italy, he assimilated the main characteristics of European decadentism and the incessant search for Beauty. In the first decade of the 20th century d’Annunzio was probably the most famous Italian poet in Europe. Seen as a devil with an angel's writing, D'Annunzio remains indisputably irresistible: without a doubt the finest Italian writer of his time, an aesthete who would make Oscar Wilde look like a mere bourgeois, a seducer with the tact and appetite of Casanova, a political fanatic and a soft-spoken and passionate orator.
He became famous with the novel The Plesurer, published in 1889, dedicated to the actress Eleonora Duse, with whom he had a stormy romance. One novel among many attributed to him. His appetite and sexual performance were legendary. He lived with several women simultaneously (it is said that the passion of some of them led to suicide). He hosted cocaine-fueled orgies in his palace like a precursor to Hugh Hefner with the Playboy bunnies. His opulent palace, which reflected his excesses and aestheticism, was (and is) located on the northern shore of Lake Garda in northern Italy (the largest lake in Italy, with 5 islands, located in the province of Brescia), and extending over an area of about 370 km at an altitude of 65 meters above sea level).
Around his house there is a labyrinth of secret and fantastic gardens, there are planes and boats from the First World War, there are waterfalls, statues, a Greek-style auditorium, battlements of a fortress and on top of a hill there is his mausoleum guarded by enormous stone dogs.
The house is a museum of fantastic pieces, generally from that period, where there is almost no space between them – whether on the walls, on the furniture, or in the bathroom with a bathtub and sink in Lapis Lazuli surrounded by dozens of bottles of perfumes, lotions, etc. A magical place worth a visit (see attached video).
He was also a hero of World War I - where he was on the side of the Allies - having distinguished himself by commanding fleets of planes. He achieved celebrity as a fighter pilot (he lost sight in one eye in a plane crash). Among his many achievements, the most famous was the conquest of the city of Fiume (today Rijeka in Croatia) on September 12, 1919, leading an army of 2,000 Italians. There, D’Annunzio proclaimed himself “Duce” (leader/Duke) and invented the gesture that would later be copied by Hitler and Mussolini during World War II. His figure (with a curled mustache) would also later inspire Salvador Dali. In 1937 he was elected president of the Royal Italian Academy). D'Annunzio died of a stroke (some authors claim that this happened "at the hands" of one of the several "playmates" with whom he cohabited - a Tyrolean blonde named Emy Huefler) at his home on March 1, 1938. He was given a state funeral.
A perfume that, after a brief citrus and spicy opening, is marked by the prominence of the sweet sensuality of Amber and the mystery of incense. With good duration (about 12h) it has moderate projection. The balsamic oponax seasoned with patchouli is a plus for my taste. The drydown on the skin is smooth and sweet. Just like D'Annunzio, it is a provocative, seductive fragrance, triggering strong sensations.
It is irresistible to remember Gabriele D'Annunzio who was not only a great Italian poet, writer (The Triumph of Death) and playwright. Alongside his literary career, he developed an eccentric political career. Protagonist of a life of excess, d’Annunzio made aestheticism his own lifestyle (his life motto), always seeking new sensations. With the declared intention of establishing modern narrative prose in Italy, he assimilated the main characteristics of European decadentism and the incessant search for Beauty. In the first decade of the 20th century d’Annunzio was probably the most famous Italian poet in Europe. Seen as a devil with an angel's writing, D'Annunzio remains indisputably irresistible: without a doubt the finest Italian writer of his time, an aesthete who would make Oscar Wilde look like a mere bourgeois, a seducer with the tact and appetite of Casanova, a political fanatic and a soft-spoken and passionate orator.
He became famous with the novel The Plesurer, published in 1889, dedicated to the actress Eleonora Duse, with whom he had a stormy romance. One novel among many attributed to him. His appetite and sexual performance were legendary. He lived with several women simultaneously (it is said that the passion of some of them led to suicide). He hosted cocaine-fueled orgies in his palace like a precursor to Hugh Hefner with the Playboy bunnies. His opulent palace, which reflected his excesses and aestheticism, was (and is) located on the northern shore of Lake Garda in northern Italy (the largest lake in Italy, with 5 islands, located in the province of Brescia), and extending over an area of about 370 km at an altitude of 65 meters above sea level).
Around his house there is a labyrinth of secret and fantastic gardens, there are planes and boats from the First World War, there are waterfalls, statues, a Greek-style auditorium, battlements of a fortress and on top of a hill there is his mausoleum guarded by enormous stone dogs.
The house is a museum of fantastic pieces, generally from that period, where there is almost no space between them – whether on the walls, on the furniture, or in the bathroom with a bathtub and sink in Lapis Lazuli surrounded by dozens of bottles of perfumes, lotions, etc. A magical place worth a visit (see attached video).
He was also a hero of World War I - where he was on the side of the Allies - having distinguished himself by commanding fleets of planes. He achieved celebrity as a fighter pilot (he lost sight in one eye in a plane crash). Among his many achievements, the most famous was the conquest of the city of Fiume (today Rijeka in Croatia) on September 12, 1919, leading an army of 2,000 Italians. There, D’Annunzio proclaimed himself “Duce” (leader/Duke) and invented the gesture that would later be copied by Hitler and Mussolini during World War II. His figure (with a curled mustache) would also later inspire Salvador Dali. In 1937 he was elected president of the Royal Italian Academy). D'Annunzio died of a stroke (some authors claim that this happened "at the hands" of one of the several "playmates" with whom he cohabited - a Tyrolean blonde named Emy Huefler) at his home on March 1, 1938. He was given a state funeral.