Acqua dell'Elba

Acqua dell'Elba was started at the end of 2000 by Fabio, Marco and Chiara, who were born in Marciana Marina on the island of Elba, off the Tuscan coast of Italy, and still live there. They were just over thirty when they opened a small laboratory with a perfume shop beside it, close to the sea. The emblem comes from a perfume bottle stopper found in a small Roman ship, uncovered by a storm in the Gulf of Procchio in 1967.

The perfumes take their ideas from the sea, the Mediterranean scrub, citrus groves and herbs of the Tuscan Archipelago, and the company says it has kept producing on the island. It is still a family business. It now has more than 30 single-brand shops in Italy and sells through over 1,000 perfumeries in Europe and beyond.

On Elba, the first address at Via Aldo Moro 69 in Marciana Marina is still on its shop list, with more shops in Portoferraio, Capoliveri and Marina di Campo. In Florence its own shop is at Via dei Calzaiuoli 45r, a stop on the Visit Tuscany perfume walk, and there is another at Florence airport. A 100 ml eau de parfum from the Mediterranea line costs from €77. Try Acqua first: a scent for him and her, built around a quiet cove and the scrub around it.