Lavanda Ambrata Santa Maria Novella 1859

Uncommented Fragrances No. 125

Sometimes you do something that you really regret. Not just a little. But I don’t want to cry, after all, this isn’t about something truly important in life. Thank goodness! It’s solely about the fact that three years ago we traveled to Tuscany and Florence, and I had thought about visiting the Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella / Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Nuova beforehand, to buy one of the fragrances right in the heart of the Santa Maria Novella manufactory and leave happily. But I was young (still just under 50), it was too hot, there was too much to see, the cathedral was impressive, but less so than I had expected, the city was too crowded, and we had so much planned - and we left without visiting the Farmacia and buying a fragrance. I came to terms with it, but occasionally still felt a twinge of regret. Now, this summer, when I went to Lake Garda and planned trips to Verona and Venice, I received a hot tip from Ernstheiter, our Italy expert, that there was also a lovely branch of Santa Maria Novella in Verona. Of course, it’s no substitute for the Farmacia itself, but Verona is a beautiful city, actually even a stunning one, with an elegant, well-organized pedestrian zone and stylish perfumeries in various side streets. Excursion: One of them even has a fantastic selection of niche fragrances in a similar atmosphere to the Farmacia in Florence: dark wood, ancient display windows, curved gold lettering, antiquated furnishings - and young hipsters as owners. But back to Santa Maria Novella: The exclusive boutique in Verona isn’t really impressive, but it’s nicely located and simply and elegantly furnished. The consultation was charming and pleasant, and I could test everything I wanted. I intended to buy one of the two lavender fragrances (Lavanda Imperiale or Lavanda Ambrata). After consultation with the family and also in my own interest, I chose Lavanda Ambrata, which, despite its slightly misleading name, is fresher than the somewhat classically traditional Lavanda Imperiale. I would describe the former (Ambrata) as green, and the latter (Imperiale) as blue, if you know what I mean.

Lavanda Ambrata is indeed herbaceous green, but not in the sense of a dense, overly spicy herbaceousness, as can occasionally occur with lavender fragrances. I initially perceive citrusy, brighter notes, then very quickly a harmonious, subtly herbal lavender, and subsequently a slightly warmer base, which I would not identify as ambratic at all. Here on the page, the ingredients only mention lavender, while the homepage adds the inclusion of amber / ambra. Everything remains rather refreshing, light, and bright. Thus, the fragrance lives up to its classification as Eau de Cologne / Acqua di Colonia.

It should be noted that the fragrances of the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella could be among the oldest fragrances in the world. The company legend speaks of a monastic origin in 1221 (thus a monastery recipe; not verified) and the founding of the Farmacia in 1621. In particular, the classic "Acqua di Colonia - Santa Maria Novella" is said to have been commissioned by Caterina de Medici from the monks even before the brand was founded in 1533, although the recipe is apparently also not securely verified. After all: the tradition line is truly long! By the way, the brand is not so easily available in Germany and is usually only offered in very few selected perfumeries as a small selection from the large portfolio. After all, that’s another important reason to keep traveling to Italy from time to time.