Acqua di Parma, the Italian Chic

Acqua di Parma is an Italian perfume company which produces a lightly scented fragrance.

It was founded in 1916 and began in the city of Parma in a small perfume factory and was used up until the '30s and '40s in Europe. The brand was revived in 1993, financed by Tod's owner Diego Della Valle, Luca di Montezemolo of Ferrari, and Paolo Borgomanero, a shareholder of La Perla. The company was eventually acquired by LVMH in 2001 and now has it's headquarters in Milan.

The company's original scent, Colonia, was created in 1916 in a small perfume factory in the centre of Parma's historic old town and was intended to perfume the handkerchiefs of Italian men. Today Colonia is used more widely as a personal scent. At the time of the perfume company's birth, the majority of perfumes were much stronger and heavier in composition: this uncommonly light and fresh fragrance found immediate success.

In an effort to rescue the company's diminishing popularity, the three Italian businessmen introduced new products, creating an extended line of hand-crafted leather goods, aromatherapy products, linens, candles, and terry-cloth bathrobes, as well as several new perfumes. The Acqua di Parma perfume and cologne range includes:

• Blu Mediterraneo (Fico Di Amalfi, Arancia di Capri);
• women's fragrances: Profumo, Iris Nobile and Magnolia Nobile (released in the Fall of 2009);
• Colonia;
• variations on the popular original Colonia (Colonia Intensa and Colonia Assoluta).

The company has adopted the cylindrical bottles, rounded boxes and bright yellow packaging of the original product.