Do you know the scents, the essence of Sicily? Have you been enveloped by the scent of citrus blossoms (flowers of oranges and lemons) in late March?
If you have experienced these emotions, then you can understand the story of Giuseppe Arnone and his creation Arnò that has recently arrived in Venice, at the former church of Santa Chiara on the artisans island of Murano.
Giuseppe creates personalised perfumes in Venice and invented a way to classify the scents in order to be able to customize a natural and novel scent for those who want something special, something that distinguishes the wearer.
It all started when Giuseppe was a child in Pozzallo, on the sea near Ragusa, in the heart of Magna Grecia of Sicily where the art of living reaches its maximum expression. Giuseppe was always a curious ‘olfactorial’ child smelling everything around him: "keep your nose out of the pots, you'll burn it!", his grandmother always told him.
It was natural that from this desire to satisfy his natural sense, to complete the emotional side, he should add an intellectual and technical side, so Giuseppe became a chemical. He started to search for links connecting materials and to look for new results from his work.
Meanwhile, as a pastime, he continued to classify everything that he found according to aroma and to collect essences in his basement to test their combination. The first fragrance he created for his wife Daniela, his inseparable complement to everything he does. Alongside their enterprise producing detergents, they had fun 'playing' with the scents under the curious gaze of the citizens of Pozzallo.
They opened a shop of their own perfumes on the central square of town, with a terrace that overlooks the town and the sea, and started by creating themed 'olfactory events'. One memorable 'Arab night' with the essential belly dancer, recreated the aromas of the spice markets of eastern cities generating the excitement that these perfume of resins, spices and incense give. From the square slowly throughout the country people became involved in the oriental game of sensations.
"In our perfumery we do not sell perfumes, we create them by involving customers in the creative process, making each customer feel special and unique. And now one of those perfumeries has opened in Venice, on the island of Murano, in the former Church of St. Chiara, a place that has became an elegant centre of the art of glass, to watch and meet the craftsmen working, and to find the best Italian craftsmanship and artisanship".
Here in Venice you can have this experience and meet Giuseppe where he has opened a corner shop with his 'perfumery bench', a system that blends forty different essences to find the perfect perfume composition for each person.
"In recent years we have sought the best natural essences from around the world. There are some magical places such as Turkey for the rose, Calabria for the bergamot and Cambodia for the ‘oud’ (agarwood), a very special resin that forms in a tree when it is attacked by fungi. In Cambodia a hole is drilled in the tree and this fungus is put in so that it 'eats the tree' from within. When they inspect the tree and test that it has the 'right sound' then they tap the resin".
Choosing a custom scent is an experience that everyone should try. Be guided between aromas of flowers, woods, fruit, incense and find what you want to convey to others of yourself, experience the emotions try different fragrances, it is unusually sensual.
So now I have my personal ‘new’ scent, perfect for my skin, a balance between my personality and the scents of nature. And I have my personalized bottle with its 'secret composition' (which I will not reveal) made for me in Murano at ex Chiesa Santa Chiara by a master of the art of living.
Follow us