The last fragrance of the Blu Mediterraneo collecting the essence of Arancia Vaniglia, working the Spugnatura technique: a limited- edition fragrance by Acqua di Parma
Arancia La Spugnatura: a limited-edition fragrance of Acqua di Parma’s Blu Mediterraneo line
As the name suggests, the main ingredient of the fragrance is Vanilla Orange, a citrus fruit typical of Sicily, which is characterized by its sweet and sour flavor. Almost an oxymoron, Arancia La Spugnatura represents a taste made of opposites that, at the olfactory level, are merged into energizing notes.
Created by the master perfumer François Demachy, the new fragrance aims at conveying the memories of a Sicilian summer. The bottle itself, made of porcelain with the care of craftsmanship, recalls the colors of the Mediterranean Sea, including the blue that represents the entire Blu Mediterraneo line.
Acqua di Parma’s history and its Blu Mediterraneo line
Acqua di Parma is the result of an idea of the baron Carlo Magnani, who in 1916 wanted a personalized cologne that would be able to express his personality. This is how the fragrance Colonia was created: a perfume with citrus note – lemon, sweet orange, and Calabrian bergamot – amplified by the smell of lavender, Bulgarian rose, verbena, and rosemary. A scent characterized by the persistence of vetiver, sandalwood, and patchouli.
Eau de Cologne was used in the past to perfume men’s handkerchiefs, since the 1950s, when Hollywood movie and show business stars were going to Italy, traveling between Rome and Sicily.
Over the years the Eau de Cologne was brought to date by the Maison through the new versions Intensa, Pura, Essenza, C.l.u.b Futura and Splash.
Colonia Intensa features citrusy notes blended with spicy hints of cardamom and ginger. Colonia Pura, on the other hand, combines accents of patchouli, cedarwood, and musk with Jasmine Sambac and Narcissus de France. While Colonia C.l.u.b presents notes of pink berries and black pepper, while Colonia Essenza includes grapefruit, mandarin, and Petit Grain. Colonia Futura contains ninety-nine percent naturally sourced ingredients and features heart notes of sage sclarea and lavender. And, lastly, Colonia Spash, has, among the various ingredients, Bulgarian Rose and Verbena.
All fragrances are still contained in the 1930s bottle, designed in Art Deco style, with a hand-applied label depicting the coat of arms of the city of Parma. A tribute to the Emilian city, also evident in the use of yellow, which recalls the traditional color of its buildings.
Signature of the Sun, Le Nobili, Blu Mediterraneo: Acqua di Parma collections
In addition to the Colonia collection, Acqua di Parma also holds the Signature of the Sun collection, made with ingredients from around the world such as Yuzu or Sakura, both of Japanese origin. Note di Colonia’s fragrances instead reinterpret in the form of olfactory notes operas such as Aida and La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, or Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Puccini. Another collection, Le Nobili (The Nobles), is dedicated to women’s essences, while Blu Mediterraneo celebrates the Mediterranean Sea through its scents. The fragrances in this line are the sweet Fico di Amalfi (Amalfi Fig), or the fresh Mirto di Panarea (Panarea Myrtle), Bergamotto di Calabria (Calabrian Bergamot), Cipresso di Toscana (Tuscan Cypress), and Mandorla Siciliana (Sicilian Almond) to which, as of this year, the limited edition of Arancia La Spugnatura has been added.
The new limited-edition fragrance Arancia La Spugnatura: the Arancia Vaniglia fruit and the Spugnatura technique
Arancia La Spugnatura is a celebration of Sicily and its craftsmanship. Spugnatura (from the word sponge) is in fact a traditional technique, still practiced and handed down – although by very few artisans – which involves extracting essence from citrus fruits through a completely manual process.
Originally used to extract bergamot essence, in the case of Acqua di Parma this method is used to process another citrus fruit typical of Sicily: oranges, specifically the Arancia Vaniglia, characteristic of the city of Ribera, near Agrigento.
According to the sponging (in Italian spugnatura) technique, artisans, after cutting the fruit into two equal parts and separating the pulp from the peel with a tool called a cavatore, rub the latter by hand on sea sponges with precise and delicate gestures. A work marked by the sense of time typical of the trades of yesteryear, a slow rhythm, led to obtaining essential oil: from a hundred kilograms of fruit only three hundred grams of essence are produced. Once sponges are saturated, the oil can be squeezed and collected in earthenware containers.
This fragrance ingredient is the main component of the perfume and makes up the top notes, along with yellow mandarin and bitter almond. Added to these scents are the spicy black pepper and the base notes of cedarwood and musk. A fragrance that follows the Maison’s tradition, both in its ingredients and in its attention to preserving the traditional crafts and workings of territorial micro-areas, which are in danger of disappearing if not protected and sustained.
A connection with craftsmanship, Acqua di Parma’s attention to sustainability
The craftsmanship of Acqua di Parma is perceived not only in its support of a technique as old as Spugnatura, but also in its attention to every detail of the product, including the making and decoration of the bottle. For the limited edition of Arancia La Spugnatura, the latter is made of porcelain, completely by hand.
After pouring the porcelain into a plaster mold and letting it rest for about thirty to forty minutes, artisans peel off every bottle from each piece, removing imperfections and making it smooth. The whole bottle is then dipped in enamel and fired in the kiln for more than eight hours. At this point it is ready to be decorated with images recalling in both color and shape of the ingredients used to produce the essence. Orange, gold, and white stand out on a blue sea background, recalling with their colors the tones of a Sicilian summer.
In addition, the hand-applied label on each bottle is completely sustainable and made from waste powder recovered from marble quarries. Even the timeless cylindrical box that encloses the bottle is sustainable, made from FCS-certified paper in the unmistakable shade of blue that distinguishes the entire Blu Mediterraneo line.
Acqua di Parma’s Il Chioschetto, a corner of the Mediterranean in Milan
For the launch of the new fragrance Arancia La Spugnatura, Acqua di Parma transformed the Via Palestro kiosk in the Milan city center into Il Chioschetto (little kiosk in English) from May 11 to 21, 2023.
Repainted in the Maison’s traditional yellow, with white and blue furnishings which recall the colors of the Blu Mediterraneo line, of which the new fragrance is a part, Il Chioschetto was the place where for ten days it was possible to discover, via three interactive paths and workshop, the new limited-edition perfume.
The Art of Perfume was the experience that allowed to discover the new fragrance through the guidance of the Maison’s Brand Ambassadors. Crafting Ceramics, on the other side, was a hands-on workshop to recreate the decoration of the bottle on porcelain tiles. A practical experience to touch the craftsmanship that marks Acqua di Parma products. Little Perfumers was the activity that allowed children to experience how perfumes are created, getting to compose their own scent inspired by Arancia La Spugnatura.
In addition, throughout the period Il Chioschetto was also open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and aperitif with extracts, juices, ice cream and more traditional Sicilian dishes inspired by Arancia Vaniglia, the main ingredient of the fragrance.
Arancia La Spugnatura – Acqua di Parma
Arancia La Spugnatura is the new limited-edition unisex fragrance from Acqua di Parma. Starting from its porcelain bottle, the perfume recalls the blue of the Mediterranean Sea and the colors of Sicily, telling the story of its fruits, its land and its traditions that are intertwined with the history of the Maison.
Acqua di Parma
Acqua di Parma Maison, founded in 1916, is part of the LVMH group since 2011. It currently produces a differentiated range of products: from fragrances to body and home products such as candles and room diffusers.
Mariangela Peci
