The Villa Médicis has stood on the Pincian Hill since the sixteenth century — its gardens running along the edge of the hill above Rome, looking out over the rooftops of the city below. Since 1725 it has been the seat of the French Academy in Rome, a place where artists and scholars come to work and think. The gardens are the particular thing: formal in structure but dense with Mediterranean planting, the air carrying lemon, lavender, and the warm resinous smell of cedar on stone.
In a room, it is herbal, woody, and quietly luminous — the kind of scent that evokes a specific quality of southern light rather than a particular flower. The throw is warm and steady; it fills a medium to large room with a composed, Mediterranean presence. Suited to a living room or study, and to any season that benefits from something sun-warmed and rooted.
Italian lemon opens with a bright, leaf-green citrus — more foliage than fruit, slightly bitter at the edges. Lavender and clary sage carry the herbal heart, cool and aromatic. Oregano, rosemary, and myrtle add the dense, sun-dried character of the Italian hillside. Wormwood introduces a faintly medicinal, silvery note that keeps the composition from softening too far. Cedarwood and vetiver build the woody base — dry, resinous, and unhurried. Patchouli and clove anchor the dry-down with a warm, spiced earthiness.
Scent family — Woody, Aromatic
Scent profile — Lemon leaf, lavender, oregano, rosemary, myrtle, cedarwood, vetiver, patchouli
Perfume designed with Françoise Caron.
Hand-blown glass vessel, 260g. Dimensions 90 x 90 x 100mm.
Burn time 60–70 hours.
ABOUT the MAKER
Astier de Villatte
