Ithaka is the first perfume in the Versi trilogy exploring the relationship between poetry and perfumery, and how to appreciate it. The perfume is inspired by the poem "Ithaka" written by the renewed Greek poet, Constantine Cavafy, published in 1911.

ITHAKA

As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you'll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won't encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you're seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you're destined for.
But don't hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you've gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn’t have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won't have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you'll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

P. Cavafy, from C.P. Cavafy: Collected Poems.Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Translation Copyright © 1975, 1992 by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Reproduced with permission of Princeton University Press. Source: C.P. Cavafy: Collected Poems (Princeton University Press, 1975)

Ithaca is the mythical city of Ulysses' adventures. It symbolises the destination of a long journey of every man though life, the eternal calmness and satisfaction. The poem suggests that everyone of us is looking for our own Ithaca, our personal supreme goal. However, in the end, it is not the goal that matters, but the journey. The journey makes us wise and gives us the richest good: experience, knowledge and maturity.

Perfumer: Camille Chemardin
Genesis, Concept and Creative Design: Stefania Squeglia

Ithaka | The Perfume

Ithaka is like returning to port after being exposed to the freshness of the sea and discovering the richness of the Phoenician markets.

The opening top note of bergamot creates a sense of freshness from arrival to port on a wooden boat full of precious goods. The incense and cedar evolve softly and beautifully into gourmand undertones after the bergamot settles on the skin, and the fragrance becomes richer, amber-y and woodier. It is an olfactory journey, a history of travels and discoveries.

VERSI | The Packaging

Each flacon in the Versi trilogy will have a soft and hand cut wooden cap and a hand incised tablet with a symbol unique for each poem. For Ithaka it is a small boat in the sea. The flacon is housed as usual in the classical Odori d'Anima wooden box, inspired by iconic transportation cases used for the protective shipping of sculptures and art works.

Discover the perfume through our sample service:

View Ithaka