Caprissimo by Carthusia: new fragrance

Carthusia, the Italian niche brand on Via Camerelle with the smallest perfume laboratory in the world, inspired by the Mediterranean and the island of Capri in particular, has been providing us with fragrances to cast our mind to summery thoughts for a while now: from the citrusy masculines Io Capri (George Clooney's choice) and Mediterraneo to the lyrical Aria di Capri and the carnation-fused Fiori di Capri, there's something for everyone.
Legend has it that in 1380, the prior of the monastery was surprised by the news of an impending visit of Queen Joan I of Naples. He therefore amassed large flower bouquets with the most beautiful blossoms. When, after three days, he wanted to dispose them, he noticed the wonderful smell of the water and he called the alchemist, who discovered the origin of the fragrance in the “Garofilium Silvestre Caprese”, later tweaked and adjusted becoming Capri’s first perfume. In 1948, the formula was rediscovered and it was given to a chemist who owned the world’s smallest laboratory called “Carthusia”. To this day, production methods follow those used by the Carthusian monks of yore.

Now comes the melodic sounding Caprissimo (the superlative of Capri, if you like!) which aims to capture the flowers, sun and la dolce vita of the famous exotic locale. Focused on the lemon tree, it interprets the hesperidic and fizzying notes of the south, adding piquant and subtle accents of greeness to open up its floral heart that is redolent of "blue" jasmine, frangipani and osmanthus. Caprissimo ends on intense notes of wood and myrrh.

This comes as a reissue of the discontinued Caprissimo which was a green chypre in the vein of a lighter Ma Griffe. (The Carthusia line used to include other scents that are now unavailable like Gelsomino di Capri, Carthusia Lady etc.) The official site Carthusia.it is experiencing technical problems right now, but hopefully they will be back on soon.