The Holy Trinity: Perfumes Made by Monks
The rarefied aura that surrounds fragrance
dates back to the remotest times of antiquity, when incense and fragrant oils
would be offered up to the gods and deities of the ancient world. The Arab
world is credited with introducing modern perfumery to the West, having
preserved the ancient arts of distillation, evaporation, and filtration that
had been lost to Christian society, and in turn heralding great advancements
not only in the field of fragrance but of chemistry and science too. In passing
this tradition on, Christian monks began to adopt the practice of creating
fragrances as an expression of faith, before eventually the art form became
available to the wider public, for a price. Today, most perfume is manufactured
on a grand commercial scale; a far cry from the artisanal monastic traditions
that gave birth to modern fragrance! However, some perfume houses still survive
from this bygone age and serve to remind us of our industry’s history while
continuing to dazzle us with stunningly original compositions that blend tradition
with modernity.
Occupying a monastery on a small island off the coast of Wales, the Cistertian monks of Caldey Island have been crafting their celebrated scents for decades using the natural flora of the island itself, expressing the personality of their locale through the wonderful fragrances. Today, the monks continue to live an isolated existence from the rest of society, concentrating on their faith and the development of their signature perfume, 'Island Lavender Water', described as 'simply the best Lavender soliflore on Earth' by fragrance writer Luca Turin.
Carthusia, or ‘Charter House’, began life in
1380 according to legend. When the father prior of a small band of Carthusian
monks left a bouquet of wildflowers in the same water for three days, he was
shocked to discover it had acquired a smell completely unknown to him
previously. He turned to the monastery alchemist to trace the source of this new
fragrance, and many mysterious formulas were eventually recorded. Upon their
rediscovery by the monks in 1948, the formulas were given to a chemist to try
and recreate them, and the Pope granted the monks permission to go about establishing
the smallest perfume house in the world. 
Farmacia SS. Annunziata can reliably claim to
be the oldest perfumery in Europe, tracing its origins back to a 15th
century apothecary located in a Benedictine monastery in Florence, Italy. When
noted herbalist Domenico Brunetti was invited by nuns to move his business into
their convent’s apothecary in 1561, he began a legacy that that has endured for
over five hundred years. Today, the company’s fragrances continue to be celebrated
not only throughout Italy but also around the world, and Farmacia SS.
Annunziata is consistently innovative, daring, and exceptional, without ever
losing sight of its proud legacy and monastic origins.
To see our entire collection of fragrances, check out our website here.
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