Italian Niche Perfume Brands: Six Houses From Italy

Six of the houses we carry are recorded as Italian in our research: Lorenzo Pazzaglia, Nasomatto, Orto Parisi, Sospiro, Tiziana Terenzi and Xerjoff. In style they have little in common. One began as a family candle workshop, two are projects of the same perfumer, and one tells its founder's story as that of a chef. Each house gets a short section below, in alphabetical order and without ranking, with one perfume: the one that has the most reviews or ratings in our research for that house. Houses from elsewhere are in niche perfume houses by country.

What Italy means on these bottles

A country of origin is a fact about a company, not a scent family, and none of these houses claims an Italian style. What their own pages do show is how often craft is part of the story. Nasomatto and Orto Parisi print Made in Italy on their product pages. Lorenzo Pazzaglia says each creation is handcrafted in Italy, Tiziana Terenzi that its production is done strictly by hand, and Xerjoff names Murano glass and Italian craftspeople for its flacons. Four of the six publish a pyramid, the list of top, heart and base notes that our perfume glossary explains, and two publish nothing of the kind.

The six houses

Lorenzo Pazzaglia

The youngest of the six. The brand, PAX by Lorenzo Pazzaglia, says it was founded in 2021 and is registered in Cagli, in the Marche. It tells the founder's story as that of a chef, a nose and a dreamer who grew up around the family restaurant. Every perfume is an Extrait de Parfum in a black bottle with an owl's head as emblem, sorted into themed collections such as Sea, Cocktail and Vanilla. Van Py Rhum shows the method: Bourbon, Madagascar, Tahitian and Mohea vanilla with tonka bean and rhum on top, island vanilla, white flowers, caramel and patchouli in the heart, and oud, Indonesian patchouli, barrel-aged rhum and a black vanilla pod in the base. It is one of our vanilla perfumes, and the Lorenzo Pazzaglia guide covers the full range.

Nasomatto

The first project of the perfumer Alessandro Gualtieri, known as The Nose. The brand's pages date its oldest perfumes to 2007 and state Made in Italy. Nasomatto publishes no notes at all: each perfume is an Extrait de Parfum in 30 ml with a cap of a natural material and a sentence or two about the effect it is after. For Black Afgano that sentence speaks of a quest for the effects of temporary bliss, and the cap is made of burnt oak. The Nasomatto guide goes through the ten in order of release.

Orto Parisi

Gualtieri's second project, with first perfumes dated 2014. The name points to the garden of his grandfather, Vincenzo Parisi, and the manifesto treats the body as a garden whose smells mirror the soul. Here too no notes are revealed. The ten perfumes are sold as Parfum in 50 ml, each under a hand-finished metal cap inlaid with a natural material. Megamare is presented as the sea itself, a vast depth that needs no explanation, and its cap carries a seashell from Haiti; after that theme we have filed it under aquatic perfumes. More in the Orto Parisi guide.

Sospiro

Founded in Italy in 2011; sospiro is the Italian word for a sigh. The house builds each perfume like a musical score and names many of them after musical terms such as Basso and Bel Canto. Since 2022 it has been run from Dubai, which is why it also has a place among the houses from the Gulf. Vibrato, which the house calls a powdery-citrus composition by Christian Provenzano, opens on grapefruit, bergamot, mandarin, ginger and rosemary, has magnolia, Damascenia rose and blond wood in the heart and rests on vetiver, patchouli, Indian sandalwood, musk, crystal amber and tonka. The Sospiro guide has the other nine.

Tiziana Terenzi

The family house began as the candle workshop Cereria Terenzi in Cattolica, and the packaging prints Since 1968; the perfume line came later and is told through the memories of the siblings Tiziana and Paolo Terenzi. The brand describes its perfumes as perfume extracts in 100 ml bottles, grouped into collections such as Luna. Kirkè takes its name from the sorceress Circe and its setting from a natural park south of Rome: passion fruit, peaches, raspberries, cassis, pears and warm sand on top, lily of the valley in the heart, and heliotrope, sandalwood, vanilla, patchouli and musk in the base. It sits with our fruity perfumes; the Tiziana Terenzi guide continues from there.

Xerjoff

Founded in Turin in 2007 by Sergio Momo and Dominique Salvo. The brand calls its approach artistic, maximalist and opulent and names materials such as iris butter from Tuscany, in flacons of Murano glass. The range is organised in collections, which our guide to the Xerjoff collections takes one by one. XJ 1861 Naxos, from the 1861 collection, is the brand's tribute to Sicily: lemon, bergamot, lavender and incense from Oman on top, jasmine sambac, honey, cinnamon and cashmere in the heart, and vanilla, tobacco leaf and tonka bean in the base. The house as a whole is in the Xerjoff guide.

Choosing between them

• If you choose by notes: Lorenzo Pazzaglia, Sospiro, Tiziana Terenzi and Xerjoff publish pyramids, although Xerjoff keeps the notes of one collection, Join The Club, undisclosed.
• If you choose by idea: Nasomatto and Orto Parisi give you a sentence and a cap, and leave the rest to your skin.
• If concentration matters: Lorenzo Pazzaglia, Nasomatto and Tiziana Terenzi work in extrait strength throughout, and Orto Parisi sells all ten as Parfum.

If you would sooner start from a season, an occasion or a scent family, Find your scent asks five short questions.

Frequently asked questions

Which Italian niche perfume brands does NicheGems carry?

Six houses are recorded as Italian in our research: Lorenzo Pazzaglia, Nasomatto, Orto Parisi, Sospiro, Tiziana Terenzi and Xerjoff. Sospiro was founded in Italy and has been run from Dubai since 2022.

Do all Italian houses publish their fragrance notes?

No. Four of the six publish pyramids, although Xerjoff keeps the notes of its Join The Club collection undisclosed. Nasomatto and Orto Parisi, both projects of the perfumer Alessandro Gualtieri, reveal no notes at all.

Which of these Italian houses is the oldest?

As a company, Tiziana Terenzi: the family candle workshop Cereria Terenzi dates from 1968, although its perfume line came later. Xerjoff was founded in 2007, and Lorenzo Pazzaglia, founded in 2021, is the youngest.