VENICE ROCOCO

Top Notes Roman chamomile Upcycled Turkish rose water (proprietary production) Hawthorne Aldehydes Heart Notes Poudre à la Maréchale powdery accord Moroccan orange flower absolute Black violet accord Cumin essence Base Notes Animalic amber Iris germanica extract Civet accord French Jasmine absolute  Intro   A coquettish, powdery floral capturing the decadence of 18th century Venice, its rococo interiors and clandestine affairs. Black violet, blush rose, and chamomile nestled on an impossibly soft base of dusty iris and subtle, animalic amber.  100 ml / 3.4 fl oz. Eau de Parfum. History September 1757, Casino Venier, Venice. In a hidden alley in the heart of Venice lies a small ridotto, a secret apartment for intimate affairs. A rosewood door opens to a pastel-colored room of powder pink, pale green and pearl white. Suspended in a perfumed cloud of violet, rose and iris, stucco carvings of frothy clouds, delicate garlands and mischievous cherubs appear to dance in the gentle flicker of candlelight. Amidst this sensory haven, the strains of a mandolin emanate mysteriously from behind a wall, the musician concealed from prying eyes. The subtle background melody intertwines with the hushed conversations and shared laughter of two lovers, enveloping them in the enchantment of their clandestine encounter. Developed with Rodrigo Flores Roux. Description A powdery floral fragrance based on authentic 18th century cosmetic formulas. Eau de Parfum. Large 100 ml / 3.4 fl oz. bottle of the highest Italian quality with our signature ‘A’ engraved metal cap, as well as the newest technology for an invisible spray tube. More - Venice in the 18th century was a fashionable destination for nobles from all over Europe, and while they certainly enjoyed the beauty of the city, they enjoyed its licentious social life even more. Besides the cafés, the theatres, and, of course, the Carnival celebrations, Venice became famous for the many private spaces where exclusive gatherings were held: the casinos. The word translates as “small house”, and refers to an apartment or a self-standing building smaller than the official palazzos of the noble families. - Another similar term is ridotto, from the Latin “reducere” meaning “to gather”, which clearly explains the primary purpose of these spaces: private retreats for exclusive parties. Even though the first record of a ridotto dates to 1282, it’s in the 1600s and 1700s, the most decadent centuries of the Serenissima, that such spaces multiplied in Venice. By 1797, the year of the end of the Venetian Republic, there were 136 of them. As Rococo art and architecture was at its hight during the 18th century, these apartments became delicate jewel boxes of stuccoed walls, refined furniture and frescoed ceilings, all in the classic pastels of Venetian pink, green and white. - It was quite common for noblewomen to have their private retreats as well. The records mention the presence of two casinos along the same calle, one belonging to the nobleman Antonio Nani and the other to his wife Lucrezia: she had two servants in charge of inviting foreign gentlemen to the parties taking place every night. Others were used by groups of friends like the “Casino delle Amazzoni”, the most prestigious club of noblewomen in town. - What happened inside a ridotto is what's most interesting, as there was often a gap between what was supposed to happen and what actually happened within the stuccoed walls and frescoed ceilings of these intimate apartments. Poetry and music were legal and common pastimes in many ridotti. Gambling was absolutely forbidden, yet, it was the most common activity during such parties. Another common use of these private spaces was for romantic encounters. The famous lover Giacomo Casanova described some of the places where he would have his private meetings: these were small, luxurious apartments equipped with everything a couple might need, from bathtubs and mirrors to erotic scenes painted on the walls, and even… peepholes. - The Casino Venier is a Rococo jewel located between the Rialto bridge and Piazza San Marco. The owner of this Casino was a cultured and refined noblewoman, Elina Priuli Venier. During the late 1700s, women of noble origins had exclusive rooms, where their husband could not have access, and the women and their guests had a certain freedom of action, including whoever they wanted. - Observing and being observed are the main theme in the Casino Venier. The layout of this ridotto shows a sense of secrecy. Hidden in the marble floor of the entrance hall, there is a peephole that allows someone upstairs to monitor who is about the enter. This might be related to the fact that Elina Priuli Venier’s husband was against the game as a procurator, while she owned the ridotto. This peephole is an excellent tool to protect the intimacy of this place. Even the musicians were hidden away from the streets in order to create a pure entertaining space.  Bio - Zucchetta,Emanuela, Antichi Ridotti Veneziani : arte e società dal Cinquecento al Settecento, Fratelli Palombi Srl, Roma, 1988. - Johnson, James H., Venice Incognito: Masks in the Serene Republic, University of California Press, 2017. - Panciera, Walter, The Republic of Venice in the 18th Century, Viella Libreria Editrice, 2021. - Andrieux, Maurice, Daily Life in Venice in the Time of Casanova, Praeger, 1968. - Casanova, Giovanni Giacomo, Memorie di Casanova scritte da lui medesimo, Garzanti Editore s.p.a, Milano 1967, XIV Edizione 2009. – Bergamo Rossi, Toto, Inside Venice: A Private View of the City's Most Beautiful Interiors, Rizzoli, New York, 2016. - Martineau, Jane & Robinson, Andrew, The Glory of Venice: Art in the Eighteenth Century, Yale University Press, 1994.  - Small, Meredith, Inventing the World: Venice and the Transformation of Western Civilization, Pegasus Books, New York, 2020. - Hernandez, Gabriela, Classic Beauty: The History of Makeup, Schiffer Publishing Limited, Pennsylvania, 2017. – Genders, Roy, “Perfume through the Ages”, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1972. – Groom, Nigel, The New Perfume Handbook, Chapman & Hall, London, 1997. Image