Fragrance house

Maria Candida Gentile

Maria Candida Gentile presented a fragrance collection under her own name in Florence in 2009, after studying perfume composition in Grasse and creating fragrances for Sinfonia di Note and Profumi del Forte. Based in Sarzana, Liguria, the house centers on fragrances composed by Gentile herself, using selected natural or nature-identical materials to combine classical perfumery with contemporary art. Its initial fragrances were Cinabre, Exultat, Gershwin, and Sideris; Barry Lyndon and Hanbury followed the next year. Beyond her signed collection, Gentile creates bespoke scents for places, people, and brands, including commissions for resorts, yachts, and private clients. Her practice has also taken the form of olfactory sculpture: with Luca Vitone, she created Per l’eternità for the 55th Venice Biennale and A Tale of Forked Tongues, presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Siegen in 2022. The initial quartet helped the brand become known and appreciated.