La Passeggiata.

La Passeggiata, Italian for ‘the stroll,’ captures the leisurely promenade along Portofino’s pastel‑colored waterfront. Luca Maffei drafted the scent after a field trip to the Ligurian shoreline in early 2025, where the scent of sea‑spray, citrus orchards and sun‑warmed stone lingered on the air. The perfume translates that moment into a composition that opens with pepper‑spiced citrus, moves through fig‑sweetness, and settles into amber‑rich woods, echoing the quiet confidence of a Mediterranean walk.

The juxtaposition of black pepper with blood orange is a deliberate spark, spice that cuts through bright citrus, preventing the opening from slipping into a generic summer fizz. Fig and tonka bean create a creamy, slightly nutty heart that feels like ripe garden fruit brushed by sun‑warmed wood, while cypress adds a Mediterranean pine‑clean lift. The base’s labdanum and cedar anchor the scent in warm amber, giving it a lingering, sun‑kissed finish that refuses to fade.

The first ten minutes erupt with a bright burst: blood orange flashes, lemon leaf adds a green edge, and black pepper injects a sharp, almost tactile heat. That spark fades quickly, giving way to a softer, fruit‑laden heart where fig spreads a honeyed thickness and tonka bean whispers vanilla‑like warmth; cypress threads a clean, resinous lift that feels like a breeze through pine‑laden cliffs. As the composition settles, the base emerges, labdanum’s resinous amber, patchouli’s earthy depth, cedar’s dry timber, and a lingering whisper of vanilla. The cedar clings longest, echoing the lingering sun on stone, while the pepper’s faint sting resurfaces in the drydown, reminding you of the promenade’s salty air. The scent lingers on skin for eight to ten hours, with the woody amber trail still audible long after the initial citrus has slipped away.

La Passeggiata captures the spirit of Italy’s coastal towns, where daily life revolves around bustling markets, sea breezes, and late‑afternoon passeggiatas. The blend of black pepper and blood orange reflects the region’s love for bold flavors, while lemon leaf evokes the citrus groves that line the Riviera. Introduced in 2025, the scent quickly became a soundtrack to summer evenings, inspiring social media creators to pair it with seaside photography. Its popularity highlights a broader trend toward fragrances that blend bright, fresh top notes with grounding, earthy bases, mirroring a cultural shift toward balanced, versatile scents that transition from day to night.