I can picture her face, a weathered parchment. I can feel her liquid and vivid eyes and breathe her hands, which smell of earth and freshly cut grass, of scorching sun burning on the skin. Working hands that never rest. Hands that do not feel fatigue or even pain.

I have stepped over the threshold. I am here. A pungent perfume envelops me. It is a smell that clings to me. One that passes through me, as if I were almost transparent, as if I were a permeable material. I smell the pearly white garlic sizzling in oil with chilli and black pepper and.... yes, this is the moment! "You have to let the smell guide you!" says a little voice in my head. Crushed, cherry red, juicy, ripe and spiced tomatoes are thrown in. The air is filled with an antique smell, wise, familiar and romantic. Carefully the basil is washed, freshly picked from the terracotta vase on the balcony. Basil with a minty breath, almost balmy.

"Variazione di ragù" is a different fragrance, softer, more captivating, warmer than the original Ragù. It tells a story of a love that is more conscious and meditative, whose passion is tempered by experience and life. More perceptive because it is less visceral. A unique and exclusive love, unconditional and heartfelt, the love of a woman, of my grandmother." Gabriella Chieffo

Notes