Mendittorosa

Stefania Squeglia, who was born in Naples, traces her interest in scent to childhood, when she collected flowers and herbs and mixed them with oils and her parents' perfumes in her grandmother's old jugs. Decades later, a visit to the island of Stromboli prompted her to redirect her life toward that early fascination, and she founded the perfumery Mendittorosa — sources on the exact founding year vary between 2011 and 2013. Mendittorosa operates as a small-batch house, sourcing its raw materials from Grasse in the south of France, the traditional center of French perfumery. Squeglia designs every element of each release herself, from the scent composition to the packaging and the accompanying story, and organizes the collection into two lines: Odori d'Anima ('scents of the soul') and Talismans, each fragrance built around a specific personal or symbolic theme rather than a conventional product brief.