Premio Aromata logo courtesy of the Event
Michelyn Camen: Please explain to our readers about the Premio Aromata Awards and what gave you the idea to create a contest that was themed on fragrance and the arts.
Laura Amato: The “Premio Aromata 2024”Perfume: expressive code” is an international contest and an exhibition event dedicated to artistic perfumery. It has the dual intent of highlighting the art of master perfumers and at the same time spreading the culture of niche perfume not only to a specialized public, but also and above all, to non-professionals to whom it aims to introduce and appreciate its fascinating world rich in history and skills.
Although Rome has a great tradition in the history of fragrance, artistic perfumery was not given attention and that is why I decided to dedicate my background experience to conceive a contest inspired by the call for art dedicated to perfumers The initiative was created to establish a Roman event in the industry, where the artistic creativity and sensitivity of master perfumers is highlighted and appreciated on a par with that of a famous composer or a great painter.
Laura Amato of Premio Aromata
Please tell us a little about your own background?
Laura Amato: My previous job led me to travel around the world and to satisfy my artistic curiosity. In the last ten years I have dedicated myself to painting. My continuing development as a painter is ongoing. I focus on the need to express emotions through the body language I acquired during the many years studying classical ballet.
Together with my activity as a painter I ran an art gallery in the center of Rome organizing exhibitions dedicated to contemporary painters, sculptors and contemporary jewels designers. I decided to combine this experience of mine with the world of artistic perfumery, another great passion of mine.
This is how the Premio Aromata was born: it was inspired by painters’ call for art and it was organized and promoted by the cultural association LiberoStile of which I am a founding member together with Erica Lehmann.
A glimpse of the setting
Why did you choose Scent and Literature for your first edition of the Premio Aromata 2024?
Laura Amato: I chose the literary theme to give great expressive possibilities to master perfumers. Reading is a solitary and personal activity and the emotions aroused by reading promote introspection and the need to communicate.
The theme “The invisible among the lines” highlights the link between the two forms of expression: writing and perfumery, between the scripta manent and the narrative power, although evanescent, of a fragrance. There are many books in the world’s literary production whose plots revolve around perfumes. Authors of all times and places, the sources of inspiration can therefore be the most disparate. Not only perfume in literature, but also the reverse process: literature that becomes fragrance. We are interested in the possibility for the invisible – told or imagined – that dwells between the lines of a text, to come to life thanks to the creativity of the maitre parfumeur.
Opening Day
How many perfumers participated in Premio Aromata 2024 ? Was it a multi sensorial event?
Laura Amato: There were 17 perfumers selected among the artistic perfumery brands, maitre parfumeurs and fragrance creators and I really would like to mention all of them since a bond was created with each of them based on enthusiasm and passion for the creation of perfumes and for our project.
They were: Christian Alori for Masque Milano, Roberta Amato for Panosmia,Tanja Bochnig for April Aromatics, Caterina Catalani, Angela Ciampagna for Angela Ciampagna Alta Profumeria Artigianale, Lisbeth Jacobsen for Odor&Fumes, Made, Maria Raffaella Monica, Ouder Parfums, Grazia Poli, Giulia Riccardi for Ateneo dell’Olfatto, Vittoria Sancassani, Claudia Scattolini for Claudia Scattolini Extrait de Parfum, Edoardo Tacconi for Ateneo dell’Olfatto, Then There, Valentina Torino for Camomilla Torino, and Emma Vincent nose of Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics.
The public was able to appreciate and evaluate, with the possibility of Smelling, the evocative and imaginative capacity of the fragrance compared to the literary passage chosen by each participant and determined their favorite with a vote. Furthermore the literary texts could be read or listened to via a QR code in the interpretation of the actress and director Francesca Satta Flores.
Photo by Salvatore Capizzi of the Masque Milano White Whale Display
Can you please explain the judging process for Premio Aromata?
Laura Amato: The jury was made up of leaders from the perfume and literature industries. Some judges were given the opportunity to express their opinions remotely: they received samples of all the perfumes with the literary passages of inspiration and a sheet for every participant where they could express their evaluation which included various items including the very important one: “evocative and imaginative suggestion capacity of the fragrance compared to the chosen literary passage”
The judges were: Giulia Brigliadori, nose of Farotti; Giovanni D’Agostinis scientific director of the Kosmetica magazine and one of the founders of the Perfume School of the Accademia di Tecniche Nuove; Mariaceleste Lombardo nose of Moellhousen; Sarah McCartney, independent nose and creator of the 4160 Tuesdays brand; Giuseppe Squillace, one of the best-known international historians of ancient perfume and professor of Greek history at the University of Calabria; Edoardo Bertozzini, fourth generation owner of the Roman perfumery of the same name; Ann Bouterse, owner of Indigo Perfumery in Cleveland, Ohio and a profound connoisseur of the world’s artistic perfumery; Ilenia Alesse coordinator and teacher of Fashion Design at the Accademia Italiana; Alberto Ferrari collector and independent evaluator of fragrances; Francesca Pimpinelli author of the novel “Olfactive Portraits” and Irene D’Intino events manager of the SpazioSette bookshop, home of the first edition of the Premio Aromata.
The Jury Award for Premio Aromata Masque Milano White Whale, perfumer Christian Alori
The judges who were able to be present during the event had the opportunity to carry out live evaluations. The total of the judges’ preferences determined the Winner of the of Premio Aromata 2024. They chose Masque Milano White Whale by Christian Alori.
Di Mezza Estate by Edoardo Tacconi for Ateneo dell’Olfatto, artistic director is Claudio Calafiore
The public voted for their favorite on simpler ballots determining the Public Winner: Di Mezza Estate
Can you tell us if there will be Premio Aromata Aromata Contest for 2025?
Laura Amato: The Premio Aromata 2nd edition edition will be from May 15- 18 2025.
Where will it be held? Will another fine art be chosen as the theme?
Laura Amato: The second edition of Premio Aromata will be held in the frescoed halls of the same venue, Palazzo Cavallerini Lazzaroni and the theme will remain Literature since it received great enthusiasm from perfumers from all over the world.
When are the 2025 Premio Aromata contest submissions be due? Are there other projects planned for Premio Aromata?
Laura Amato: The 2025 Premio Aromata announcement will be available upon request at aromata@liberostile.org from October 2024 and deadline for submissions will be March, 31 2025. With a view to maintaining the promotion of perfume culture and its link to fine arts, the projects our association are working on range from the creation of workshops to book presentations, to also include perfume-themed travel planning.
All photos by Laura unless noted
Thank you Laura, the judges, and congratulations to the 17 entrees and two winners. We hope more global artistic perfumers and houses will submit their fragrances inspired by literature by March 31, 2025. Submissions are not necessarily new perfumes, so there are many that come to mind. -Michelyn Camen Editor-in-Chief
For more on the Premio Aromata awards please visit their site
Please read our introduction here
Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebonofficial @aromata2024 @l_ori_c @masquemilano @blu.odisseo @ateneodellolfatto @claudiocalafiore @sarahmccartneythinks @indigoperfumery @giuliabrigliadori_@mariacelestelombardo_@moellhousen.official @giovannidagostinis @albsgrenouille @bertozzinidal1913_roma @pimpi_nelli @ilemood @irene_dintino @spaziosette_libreria @giuseppe9696
This is our Privacy Policy