THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN ESSENCE AND PERFUME

Since the creation of his “House”- founded in 1990 in the 15th century family palazzo in Florence - Lorenzo Villoresi has traced a revolutionary path in artistic perfumery. The underlying philosophy which led to the creation of the Perfumery and Home Fragrances collections is evident in the intrinsic value of the single elements that make up each product.

Lead crystal, alabaster from Volterra, travertine marble, Carrara statuary marble, olive wood and Florentine leather, former prized materials of the granducal workshops of the Medici, give today a new life to this precious-born art.

Retracing the routes of the Tuscan merchants of the Renaissance, the perfumes of Lorenzo Villoresi represent a universe where the materials, fragrances, and colours of Tuscany meet and harmonise with the spices, essences and influences of the Orient. [Lorenzo Villoresi agli inizi della sua attività] Of particular note among the components are the essential oils and precious extracts from all over the world, which compliment and exalt the purely Tuscan elements of laurel, olive, cypress, and the precious and rare iris root.

All aspects of production are still carried out manually according to traditional methods, requiring time, patience and meticulous care and attention. [Lorenzo Villoresi e la moglie Ludovica] The potpourri, and in particular the extraordinary Piper Nigrum, are emblematic of the originality and quality which characterise the products of the House of Lorenzo Villoresi. Intensely aromatic woods, pungent peppercorns, nutmeg, incense, lost fragrances, blend in a unique and wonderful olfactory alchemy.

The perfumes of Lorenzo Villoresi are born of the founder’s long experience in the realisation of personal fragrances, an activity still practised with ever-growing success.

The fragrances of Lorenzo Villoresi refute the abused canons of conventional perfumery and strictly avoid the same commercial niche occupied by mass-produced goods.
Ancient suggestions and influences from far-off lands distinguish the fragrances of Lorenzo Villoresi, which, for their intrinsic difference, have earned a faithful international clientele, refined and exigent. Fragrances capable of describing a kind of independent universe, free of all limits; fragrances which evoke or create feelings, places, images, or which may even lead to a space of new emotional dimensions.


Since his first voyage to the Middle East in 1981, Lorenzo Villoresi develops a passion for spices and essences that he would use, back in Italy, to compose original pot-pourris and personalized fragrances. In the same period he starts his studies on Perfumery, essences, methods of distillation, with many experimental productions of tinctures, infusions and other aromatics.
In the course of the eighties, along with an academic career as researcher in Ancient Philosophy, essences and perfumery become the true passion of Lorenzo Villoresi who keeps receiving growing requests for custom made fragrances.
The proper business activity starts in 1990 when the newly born “Lorenzo Villoresi” firm receives an important order of pot-pourrit, scented candles and room fragrances from the Fendi house of fashion.After several important projects with famous names of the fashion business, in 1993 the first collection of Perfumes and Eau de Toilettes carrying the Lorenzo Villoresi brand sees the light.
The first two fragrances are named simply UOMO (man) and DONNA (woman) are still much beloved classics.Focusing ever more on his own collection and ever less on the private label projects, Lorenzo Villoresi creates a number of “monothematic” fragrances as his personal interpretation of classic perfumery themes: MUSK, SANDALO, PATCHOULI, INCENSI, SPEZIE, VETIVER, WILD LAVENDER are all characterized by very complex formulas and a generous use of precious natural ingredients.

More recently a new collection called “Fantasy Fragrances” was created. Here the creation is inspired by “olfactory visions” that recall exotic and dreaming worlds, atmospheres, landscapes like PIPER NIGRUM (the spice route), TEINT DE NEIGE (the sophisticated beauty of the Belle Epoque), DILMUN (a Mesopotamian paradise), YERBAMATE (an endless prairie with wild herbs and flowers) and recently ALAMUT (a rich and sumptuous Oriental fragrance) in 2006. The new projects are a glacial fragrance inspired by a legendary people of the Great North and a fragrance that will evoke the unmistakable scent of the Mediterranean bush.

In 2006 Lorenzo Villoresi wins the international perfumery award “Prix Coty” in Paris, the most important recognition of the artistic career of a perfumer. Between 2005 and 2006 the renovation works in the old family palace in via de’ Bardi started. The palace will host an academy of perfumery, with courses, lectures, workshops etc. all around the world of fragrances. There will also be an aromatic garden, a cafeteria, a shop, a collection of rare and unusual essences and a small aromatic SPA for the members of the Academy. The unmistakable style of Lorenzo Villoresi’s creations is obtained with very structured formulas and with intense, soft and embracing notes that go through the entire olfactory pyramid.


The world’s first interactive Atelier dedicated to Essences and Perfumes

Florence, the city of “Genius” par excellence and launch pad for a multitude of cultural innovations, will soon house a unique and extraordinary centre, the first of its kind, dedicated to the world of Perfume and Fragrances, as wished for by Lorenzo and Ludovica Villoresi.
This “Locus Fragrans” will make it possible to get close to this fascinating and sometimes mysterious world, via a journey through the senses which will stimulate our deepest emotions and bring them to the surface.
In the ancient family Palace in Via de Bardi 12, born from the union of two pre-existing 15th century houses, Lorenzo Villoresi has created his very own “wunderkammer” - a highly accessible and inviting place, open to the world and all those who seek, through the senses, their own inner peace and tranquillity.
The creation of this centre is, for the Florentine perfumer, the realization of a life-long dream: to give a “location” to a world which is in actual fact volatile and intangible. A place which is accessible even to novices, who can indulge their passion, just as a child would, each person journeying through their different memories, innermost feelings and new emotions.
The ‘academy’, which strikes a delicate and modern balance between an Atelier and an Education Centre and a has its own secret garden and will become a Perfume Centre where courses, events and seminars will be held which focus on the world of fragrances. All set amongst aromatic gardens, terraces and botanical trails where visitors can discover and delve into the ancient secrets of the art of perfumery and spice hunting.
The centre will be 1000 square metres in size, split on three floors with a 200 square metre internal garden, and divided according to different themes and study areas spread around the building. On the Ground Floor there will be an Olfactory Experience Centre, where the journey through the senses begins, leading straight to the Secret Garden and the Belvedere Terrace, where the aromatic plants are studied and cultivated and where visitors can have a coffee and engage in conversation. On the same floor there will be a Library, Research Centre and Showroom, dedicated to Books, Fragrances, Perfumes and Lorenzo Villoresi’s Collections, as well as a large Conversation Salon for leisurely discussions with fellow enthusiasts by the 15th century stone fireplace.
On the upper floor the actual study area begins: located here are the rooms dedicated to Seminars and Courses, where research can be carried out using personal computers, as well as the Specialised Olfactory Centre, a sort of Library of scents with over 2000 essences and varieties of aromatic substances, safely preserved by the constantly monitored air-conditioning system.


Andrea Lorenzi

10/7/10