Giovanni Sammarco
Giovanni Sammarco did not set out to become a perfumer. He studied law, earned a master's degree, and imagined a career in that field. Instead, a curiosity about rare natural raw materials took hold during his university years. He began experimenting with tinctures, sourcing unusual aromatic compounds, and slowly built the knowledge that would redirect his entire path. His first fragrance, Vitrum, announced something new: a trained nose with a collector's sensibility and an indie spirit. In 2013, he founded Sammarco Perfumes in Switzerland, choosing discretion over the traditional perfume industry routes. Rather than chasing trends, he built a small, selective house around a simple conviction: extraordinary fragrance requires exceptional materials and time. The brand has since produced a growing collection of scents, each reflecting his commitment to natural ingredients and his Italian sensibility.
The hits
Notable creations
The signature
How Giovanni composes
Giovanni works primarily with rare natural raw materials. His fascination with unusual ingredients shows in compositions that favor depth, complexity, and material authenticity over accessibility. He sources obscure tinctures, including animalic elements like civet, and builds fragrances around precious woods, resins, and florals. The result is a collection marked by unusual quality and an unmistakable hand. His style resists the predictable, offering instead scents that reward patience and invite repeated wearing. Each creation feels considered, built to evolve on skin rather than announce themselves loudly.
Philosophy
What drives Giovanni
Perfumers design dreams and give new life to emotions, to those living inside us as olfactory memories. For Giovanni, this belief shapes every creation. He sees his work as a balance between innovation and respect for tradition, between pushing boundaries and honoring what makes scent genuinely moving. He gravitates toward rare materials not as novelty but as vessels for authentic emotion. His approach is methodical yet deeply personal, informed by years of self-directed study rather than formal perfumery training. He treats each fragrance as an opportunity to capture something ephemeral and make it last.
The houses