History of perfumes
Since the dawn of time, "perfume" has been synonymous with wealth, culture, and civilization, and the profession of perfumer has always been associated with that of a doctor, healer, or priest. Indeed, the aromatic materials manipulated by ancient perfumers often possessed healing powers; so much so that Arab, Israelite, and Egyptian perfumers not only composed perfumes, but went much further: incense, baths, ointments, balms, and cosmetics were conceived as remedies to provide refined pleasures and restore health.Direct references to the healing powers of aromatic substances can be found in any traditional pharmacopoeia.
The practice of treating the body with aromatic oils dates back over two millennia BC.
The Bible also contains references to the use of essential oils, both for therapeutic and ritual purposes. As ancient as it is well known, the practice of diffusing incense fumigations in churches (a symbolism linked to purification) induces relaxation and meditation, thus promoting a connection with the divine through prayer.
The true fathers of aromatherapy are considered the ancient Egyptians, who employed a vast variety of aromatic substances both during religious and occult rites and in ordinary therapeutic practices such as baths, massages, and so on. Evidence of this is the oldest known formula for composing a perfume found in a four-thousand-year-old hieroglyphic inscription.Egyptian aromatic cosmetics, linked to complex embalming techniques, are also renowned.
They passed on their "culture of aromas" to the Greeks, who developed the first recorded perfume industry.
In Italy, the first evidence of the use of perfumes and derivatives dates back to the Etruscan civilization; it is believed that the actual spread of the use of essences and perfumes throughout Italy occurred following the encounter between the Hellenic and Ancient Roman civilizations.
The ancient Romans in the Republican era were already making extensive use of perfume, considering it indispensable not only in the celebrated public baths, but also in the preparation of food and drink. It is said that during the Imperial era, perfume even reached an excessive level of use, with abuse becoming common. Naturally, the Romans are credited with the widespread use of aromatic substances (essential oils, ointments, etc.) throughout Europe; specific written evidence of this was found in Great Britain.Christianity, however, was long opposed to the personal use of perfumes.
In the 12th century, upon returning home, the Crusaders brought back not only essences but also the ancient Eastern art of perfumery, including the precious "secret of distillation," a refined technique (later perfected by alchemy with alcoholic distillation) designed to extract and capture the aromatic principle of a plant.
And so, after centuries of oblivion, perfume began to reappear in society as an instrument of pleasure and elegance, although it would be necessary to wait until the Renaissance for it to regain the "honors" of the Roman era. It was precisely during the Renaissance that Italian perfumers became universally renowned;
during this period, Leonardo da Vinci wrote the treatise "On Modern Techniques of Absorption and Infusion."
In France, the great craze for perfumes was introduced by Catherine de' Medici;
later, during the time of Napoleon I, that country became the classic land of the modern perfume industry (especially Grasse, which was called "La cité des parfums").
Florence and Venice remained the most important centers of perfume production in Europe until the end of the 18th century, when the "art of perfume" in Italy fell into rapid decline.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Eau de Cologne, conceived by an Italian and manufactured with raw materials imported from Italy, became very successful in Germany.
During their ancient raids in the Far East, the Arabs plundered large quantities of spices, including cassia, sandalwood, nutmeg, myrrh, cloves, and so on. These spices were also used in perfumery and medicine (in which they were recognized as true masters). Among them, Avicenna, an Arabian physician and scholar who lived around the year 1000, deserves special mention. Besides leaving us a book entirely dedicated to the rose (Islam's most prized flower), he also invented the cooling coil, essential for distillation.
In China, essential oils have been used for millennia, and still are, to alleviate mental ailments and as a remedy for many types of inflammation, often in combination with acupuncture.Moving this brief history of perfume to the contemporary age, we must first note that humanity today consumes greater quantities of odorous substances than ever before; mostly manufactured artificially, their uses are now so diverse that they are unparalleled in previous eras.
This enormous expansion of perfume, characteristic of the 20th century, was made possible by the extraordinary development of organic chemistry.
It is no coincidence that the use and understanding of essential oils has significantly expanded in recent decades; the widespread rediscovery of aromatherapy is an irrefutable demonstration of this trend.