One new concept garnering plenty of attention in Florence is Profumoir, a meeting of olfactory invention, incense ceremony and evocative hospitality all blended very elegantly.

It’s nerve center: two historic buildings in San Nicolò, the eastern central quarter along the Arno favored by local Florentine artists and creatives.
 
Its key idea is a fragrance atelier where clients can experiment and create their own very personal scent. Located on the ground floor under an arched roof, it’s a beautifully decorated space, at whose heart is a master perfumer sitting inside a custom-built Olfactive Organ, who leads visitors on a olfactive tour, blending from 200 essences to create a bespoke scent. Developed in one-hour sessions with visiting customers, who leave with a 100-ml flacon of their very own fragrance.

The space is the brainchild of Daniele Cavalli, son of the late great Roberto. A Florentine determined to reinvent luxury in his own manner.  All based on the ideas of insider fragrance house Sileno Cheloni, in which Daniele acquired a majority stake three years ago.

Profumoir’s walls are lined by a rich array of raw materials in precious flacons – like neroli, musk, jasmine or oud. While a beautiful marble inlay table worthy of a Renaissance apothecary features delicate glass decanters with fine spigots containing colorful essences. Along with a line of seven essences collectively named O.R.I.G.I.N.E.  Close by, there are a selection of exotic incense, and noble brass burners. 

Across the cobblestone street, Profumoir has also opened a rather glorious apartment, a two-bedroom ground floor flat decorated with Tuscan antiques, illuminated with Florentine chandeliers. Which also boasts a Moorish smoking room, ideal for incenses ceremonies. Outside is its own garden, where plants used in fragrances blossom, and an extraction room, to discover the inner secrets of perfume making. A couple was about to arrive for the weekend, just as we finished our tour.
 
All told, Profumoir is alchemical artistry-meets-bespoke hospitality in the coolest new corner of the capital of the Renaissance.