The real story of eau de cologne: neither French nor German, the perfume with roots in an Italian medicinal drink
- The iconic scent was created in the late 1600s by an Italian apothecary named Giovanni Paolo Feminis, who had moved to Cologne to seek his fortune
- A museum dedicated to its true origins has opened in Santa Maria Maggiore in Italy’s Piedmont region
How many times have you sprayed eau de cologne on your wrist or neck and assumed it was invented by a French or German perfumer?
Although it translates from French as “water from Cologne”, a city in Germany, eau de cologne has Italian roots that have remained largely hidden over the centuries.
Feminis was an adventurous youth and left Italy for Germany to make it big. Like many doctors of his time, he was also a barber, a dentist and a botanist with a deep knowledge of drugs, plants, fruits and flowers.
“Feminis was a modern day scientist/doctor, an expert of spices who well knew the art of mixing essences and herbs to heal all sorts of body aches and pains, from digestion problems to skin rashes and headaches,” says Monica Mattei, the head of the culture office in Santa Maria Maggiore in Italy’s Piedmont region, where Feminis was born. There, a museum dedicated to the true origin of eau de cologne, Casa del Profumo (“House of Perfume” in Italian), has opened.
