Aria di Capri – fruity and floral and beautiful

Photo: perfumeniche

I could talk about how much I love Aria di Capri from Carthusia I Profumi di Capri all day. So, let’s get started.

Carthusia I Profumi di Capri is an Italian niche perfume line based in Capri, Italy. Capri is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea on the south side of the Gulf of Naples. It's really just a large limestone and sandstone rock with lush vegetation surrounded by a deep blue sea. Capri is as popular a resort destination today as it was in Roman times when Augustus built a private paradise there. His successor Tiberius moved there in 27 A.D. and ran the Roman Empire from his villas. 

Like many niche lines, it has an interesting origin story.

According to their website, “Legend recounts that in 1380, the father prior of the Carthusian Monastery of St. James, caught unawares by the news of the arrival of Queen Joan of Anjou on Capri, picked a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers of the island; these remained in the water for three days and, as he went to throw them away, the prior noticed that it had acquired a mysterious fragrance unknown to him. So he turned to the friar versed in alchemy, who traced the origin of the scent to the “Garorfilium Silvestre Caprese”. That water was the first perfume of Capri.”

Fast forward to 1948, when the prior of the monastery discovered the centuries-old perfume formulas and obtained permission to begin perfume production. The fact that Carthusia uses ingredients exclusive to Capri’s environment is what makes their fragrances unique.  

‘Aria di Capri’ means ‘air of Capri’ and what aromatic air it is. It opens with a nose-tickling sparkle from aldehydes followed by fresh citrusy bergamot and petitgrain but soon mellows to a delicate lemony glow. As it evolves, a gentle powderiness – soft, not soapy – comes forward before and opens up to a tender floral heart. There’s honey-tinged mimosa, indolic jasmine, rich rose and just enough geranium so that it smells fresh rather than clean. And then, just then, there appears the most hauntingly beautiful peach accord. This is not a dried peach, runny ripe peach or a jammy peach. This is the fragrance of a peach still on the bough, warmed by the sun. The base of cedarwood, musk, and herbaceous laurel balances the fruits and flowers and anchors the fragrance perfectly.

Aria di Capri is the experience of the ‘air of Capri’ – lemons, oranges, peaches, warm sun, fresh flowers, woods and herbs carried on a gentle salty sea breeze.

The drydown is surprisingly light and delicate for a parfum concentration, yet it has a presence that lasts for hours and makes me smile each time I catch a whiff of it.

Check out Aria di Capri in our Shop.