SCENTS OF PLACE

Like most things Fendi does, the brand’s approach to fragrance has family at its center. Silvia Venturini Fendi, a member of the family’s third generation and the artistic director of accessories, menswear, and children for the company, is gathered with her daughters Delfina Delettrez Fendi and Leonetta Luciano Fendi at I Casali del Pino, a bucolic family property just outside of Rome, when the final result of a long-in-the-works project—Fendi’s first major fragrance launch in years—is presented to her. She sniffs approvingly. The line includes seven perfumes, each conceived with a loved one in mind. Casa Grande, a leather scent with hints of cherry and incense, is an ode to Adele Fendi, who cofounded the company as a fur and leather goods store in 1925 with her husband, Edoardo; while La Baguette, which smells like bread with sugar and butter, was inspired by Delfina’s six-year-old twin sons. When the bottles are lined up together, they form a color gradient, each one relating to the ones beside it.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1357654597/1717055600/articles/bkFZOXmrE1717068302594/2114041000.jpg]
“It’s a good way of starting a new chapter,” Silvia says, before reconsidering a bit. “Not only a new chapter, I would say—a new century. This is the beginning of a celebration of our 100-year-old history.” Now they are adding a new dimension to the story. “There’s nothing that reminds you more of a person than a fragrance. I think that fragrance has a very, very big impact on the history of a person,” she adds. “We started, of course, thinking about my grandparents, and so it came quite naturally to dedicate one fragrance to my grandmother, Adele. Then we started thinking about the Fendi sisters, and so it was kind of natural for me to talk about my mother, [Anna], one of the mythical Fendi sisters. Then [Fendi artistic director of couture and womenswear] Kim [Jones], with his story. And one for myself, one dedicated to my children, and also one thinking about the future to come. We thought that it would be nice to dedicate one to the smallest [members] of the house.”
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1357654597/1717055600/articles/bkFZOXmrE1717068302594/0021476004.jpg]
Perché No, Silvia’s scent, blends pink peppercorn and sandalwood and was meant to evoke the feeling of home, namely I Casali del Pino, which has been a family retreat since 2004. “They said to me, ‘Let’s be inspired by your best moment.’ My best moments are definitely in this place. It’s where I meet for the weekend with my family, my sister. We are a very, very big family, so for the weekend, we reunite, all of us in here,” she says.
The 430-acre property, which is run by Silvia’s sister Ilaria, has an organic farm, a small hotel, a restaurant, and family quarters. “There’s so much to do. You think, ‘God, it’s boring in the countryside.’ No, it’s an incredible adventure every time,” Silvia says. “You wake up with the sun. I have memories of nights around the fire, talking, no television, picnics at the river. I think the best thing that you can give to your children when thinking about their future is a place like this.”
Leonetta and Delfina had their first driving lessons on a tractor here years ago, and now Delfina’s three children come for the weekends. Roman ruins can still be found on the land, and there’s a legend that there’s a spot where Charlemagne once stopped on the way to Rome for his coronation. “The minute I walk through those gates and through this tunnel of trees, I feel recharged. But this place has a double kind of soul to me. There is always an adventure, because the land is infinite and it’s full of discoveries. I can lie down on a hill and feel the relativeness of time and just enjoy peace. But at the same time, I can take my small car and be in the middle of a forest with wild animals while still being so close to Rome. I mean, it’s quite absurd and unique,” says Delfina, who joined Fendi in 2020 as artistic director for jewelry and also runs her own jewelry line, Delfina Delettrez. She remembers when the family first bought the property 20 years ago. “We were cooking with the fire. It was very primordial, because there was nothing. We would all sit in the church and just stay there, sitting on the ground and playing games,” she says.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1357654597/1717055600/articles/bkFZOXmrE1717068302594/6100010700.jpg]
The process of creating the Sempre Mio fragrance involved Delfina taking a deep look at her family’s past to create something truly unique. “I waited 36 years to wear perfume, because I never felt connected to any existi...