By Redolia · Published September 27, 2026
Orto Parisi is a niche perfume house founded in 2014 by the Italian perfumer Alessandro Gualtieri, who had already founded Nasomatto in 2007. The name means "Parisi's garden", after the vegetable plot his maternal grandfather Vincenzo Parisi kept in Puglia. Every release is a parfum in a 50 ml bottle at $155. Ten exist; Redolia stocks five.
The story of Orto Parisi
Gualtieri built his first house, Nasomatto, on the idea that a fragrance should chase a single sensation and be released only when it is finished. Orto Parisi came seven years later and moved the target. Where Nasomatto is composed, Orto Parisi is material: soil, leather, sweat, fruit going over. The name points at where the idea came from — childhood summers at his grandfather's place among olive trees, and the smells that came with it.
The house puts its thesis in one sentence, and it is worth quoting because it explains every bottle in the range: "Our body is like a garden, the smell it emits is like a mirror reflecting our soul and nature." That is why several of these fragrances smell bodily rather than pretty, and why two of the ten — Stercus, about fertiliser, and Seminalis, about the aldehyde that guides sperm to the ovum — are openly about functions perfumery normally pretends do not exist.
Practically, the line is unusually consistent. Every fragrance is parfum concentration, the strongest standard tier in perfumery, and every bottle is 50 ml in the same squat flacon with a hand-finished cap. One price, one size, no flankers, no 30 ml starter. What surprised us when the testers arrived was not the strength, which we expected, but how little the bottles resemble each other on skin — a customer who loves Viride will often find Boccanera unwearable, and both are Gualtieri.
Every Orto Parisi fragrance we carry, explained
Orto Parisi Terroni (2017)
The one people mean when they say Orto Parisi. It opens sharp and verdant, almost herbal, then tomato leaf takes the heart — bitter, stemmy, green in a way that has nothing to do with fruit and everything to do with the plant. Earthy notes, tobacco and dry wood carry the base. The house calls it the feeling of "putting your hands in the soil", and that is accurate enough to be useful rather than poetic.
Longevity is the thing wearers will not stop talking about; Fragrantica boards report it detectable on fabric days after wearing. Cold weather, evenings, and the bottle to buy if you want to know what this brand is for. Orto Parisi Terroni — $155 / 50 ml
Orto Parisi Viride (2014)
The most wearable of the five and the only one we would put anywhere near an office. Galbanum leads it — a resinous green material that smells sharp and faintly medicinal, closer to a snapped stem than to a leaf. Aromatic herbs sit in the middle, vetiver and musk underneath. The house describes "a garden that has been planted, fertilized, and cultivated", and the fragrance is exactly that orderly.
Spring and summer, daytime, everyday. If the rest of this page sounds like too much, start here. Orto Parisi Viride — $155 / 50 ml
Orto Parisi Cuoium (2021)
Leather, and not the polite kind. Spices open it with a peppery snap, leather takes the whole middle, and woody notes, patchouli and animalic notes finish it — animalic meaning materials that read warm and faintly bodily rather than clean. There is no sweetness anywhere and no attempt to make the hide comfortable. The house calls it "a manifestation of the legacy of leather. Contemporary paganism."
Cold weather and evenings, though it is dry enough to wear in the day. Buy it if you already know you like raw leather; skip it if your reference for the note is a suede-and-iris fragrance. Orto Parisi Cuoium — $155 / 50 ml
Orto Parisi Boccanera (2014)
The most confrontational thing we stock from the house. Chili pepper opens it — genuine heat, not culinary warmth — and then cacao and dark chocolate arrive as bitter cocoa solids rather than as dessert. Leather, woody notes and amber close it. The house describes a fragrance "that steals the kiss and leaves a spicy aftertaste on the lips", and a "confusing balance between scent and flavor, between love and fear".
Wearers report around twelve hours. Cold weather, evenings, date nights, and the one to sample rather than buy blind. Orto Parisi Boccanera — $155 / 50 ml
Orto Parisi Risvelium (2025)
The newest and the odd one out. Grapefruit and pineapple open it with real tartness — no creamy top note smoothing the entry — then aromatic notes bridge into amber, musk and woods. It is the only fragrance in our five that starts bright, and the contrast between that opening and the ambery base is the whole idea. The house calls it "the scent of awakening".
Cold weather and evenings despite the fruit, because the base does the work. Try the others first; this is the least representative of what the house is known for. Orto Parisi Risvelium — $155 / 50 ml
The five we do not stock
Ten fragrances are listed on ortoparisi.com, all at the same size and price, so this guide covers the house rather than only our shelf. The other five, each with the line the house publishes for it:
- Stercus — "Stercus never lies… the secret sweetness that attracts, and the animalic side that offends." The house's most notorious release, and openly about fertiliser.
- Seminalis — "an aromatic aldehyde which helps sperm to locate the ovum, biological proof of olfactive attraction."
- Megamare — "an indomitable depth, the unknown, a call towards all and nothing." The marine one, and the most widely liked fragrance the brand makes.
- Bergamask — "a perfume extract that reveals itself very slowly… you revel in the odor of a fresh kill."
- Brutus — "a man who lacked eloquence in his actions, a man who was terrifying yet full of kindness."
If you want one of these, email info@redolia.com and we will look into ordering it.
Orto Parisi comparison table
| Fragrance | Family | Best for | Season | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terroni (2017) | Woody | Soil, tomato leaf, tobacco; extreme longevity | Cold weather | $155 / 50 ml |
| Viride (2014) | Green | Galbanum and herbs; the office-safe one | Spring, summer | $155 / 50 ml |
| Cuoium (2021) | Leather | Raw leather, patchouli, animalic | Cold weather | $155 / 50 ml |
| Boccanera (2014) | Amber | Chili, bitter cacao, leather; the difficult one | Cold weather | $155 / 50 ml |
| Risvelium (2025) | Amber | Grapefruit and pineapple into amber | Cold weather | $155 / 50 ml |
Which Orto Parisi fragrance should you choose?
Start with Viride if you want to own one and wear it. It is green, dry and orderly, it behaves in daylight, and it is the only one of the five that will not be commented on. Start with Terroni instead if you want the fragrance the house is actually known for and you are prepared for soil and tobacco to be the point rather than a phase.
Skip Boccanera if you have ever found chili or bitter cocoa hard work in a fragrance — there is nowhere to hide from either here. Skip Risvelium as a first purchase, not because it is weak but because its bright opening will give you the wrong idea of the house. And if you already own Cuoium, Terroni is the better second bottle than Boccanera: both are dark, but Terroni is earth where Boccanera is heat, so they do not overlap.
One practical note. These are parfums in 50 ml bottles and they are strong. One spray is a full wearing; two is a decision. A bottle at this concentration will outlast most people's interest in it, which is the honest argument for sampling before you commit.
Orto Parisi and Nasomatto
The two houses share a perfumer and nothing else. Nasomatto is 30 ml extraits at $130 with turned wooden caps and a one-line "quest" in place of a note list; Orto Parisi is 50 ml parfums at $155 built on materials most houses avoid. Customers who love Nasomatto Black Afgano usually try Terroni next, and the reverse happens far less often. We wrote up the sister house in full in our Nasomatto guide, and both sit under Alessandro Gualtieri on our perfumer pages.
Frequently asked questions
What is Orto Parisi?
Orto Parisi is a niche perfume house founded in 2014 by the Italian perfumer Alessandro Gualtieri, who also founded Nasomatto in 2007. The name means 'Parisi's garden' and refers to the vegetable garden of his maternal grandfather, Vincenzo Parisi, in Puglia. Every release is a parfum in a 50 ml bottle at $155, and the house states its idea plainly: 'Our body is like a garden, the smell it emits is like a mirror reflecting our soul and nature.'
Orto Parisi vs Nasomatto: which is better?
They are the same perfumer doing two different jobs. Nasomatto is the composed one, 30 ml extraits at $130 with wooden caps; Orto Parisi is the raw one, 50 ml parfums at $155 built on earth, leather, skin and body. Neither is better, but Orto Parisi is louder and harder to wear. If you already own Nasomatto Black Afgano, Orto Parisi Terroni is the usual next step.
Is Orto Parisi worth it?
At $155 for 50 ml of parfum concentration it is priced below most niche of comparable strength, and the performance is where the money goes - Fragrantica boards on Terroni report longevity that borders on absurd, including scent still detectable on fabric days later. The case against is that these are deliberately difficult fragrances and several are not office-wearable. Sample before buying a bottle.
Which Orto Parisi lasts the longest?
Terroni, by a distance, and it is the one wearers most often describe as unreasonable rather than merely strong. Boccanera is the next heaviest, with reports around 12 hours on skin. Viride is the lightest of the five we carry, which is why it is the only one we would suggest for an office.
What does Orto Parisi Terroni smell like?
Soil, tomato leaf and tobacco. It opens sharp and green, turns on tomato leaf - a bitter, stemmy, distinctly non-edible green - and settles into earthy notes with tobacco and dry wood underneath. The house describes it as the feeling of 'putting your hands in the soil'. It is the most talked-about fragrance the brand makes and the least likely to be mistaken for anything else.
Is Orto Parisi unisex?
Yes, the entire line is sold without gender and the house has never split it. These are compositions built on materials - leather, soil, green resin, skin - rather than on the floral or fougere conventions that usually carry a gender code. Cuoium and Terroni are worn slightly more often by men in our shop, but that is customer habit, not the brief.
How many Orto Parisi fragrances are there?
Ten are listed on ortoparisi.com today: Bergamask, Boccanera, Brutus, Cuoium, Megamare, Risvelium, Seminalis, Stercus, Terroni and Viride. All are parfum concentration in a 50 ml bottle at the same price. Redolia stocks five of the ten.
What is the strongest or most difficult Orto Parisi?
Of the ten, Stercus and Seminalis are the two that test people hardest - the house is explicit that Stercus is about fertiliser and the life cycle, and Seminalis about the aldehyde that guides sperm to the ovum. We do not stock either. Of the five we do carry, Boccanera is the most confrontational: chili pepper over bitter cacao and leather.
Which Orto Parisi should I try first?
Viride if you want something you can actually wear to work - galbanum green over herbs, vetiver and musk, the most civilised thing the house makes. Terroni if you want to understand why people talk about this brand at all. Skip Risvelium until you have tried the others, because its grapefruit-and-pineapple opening is the least representative of what Orto Parisi does.
All five are in stock at $155 and ship from New Jersey. This is a house where sampling matters more than most — the gap between Viride and Boccanera is wider than the gap between many brands. The range sits on our Orto Parisi collection, alongside the leather and green notes pages, and all five are open on the counter at our Somerville, New Jersey boutique. Questions: info@redolia.com.
Updated September 2026.