Carthusia

Carthusia is based on the island of Capri and traces its modern existence to 1948, when Father Giuseppe Caggiano, the prior of the Carthusian monastery of San Giacomo, rediscovered medieval perfume formulae in the monastery archives and obtained permission from Pope Pius XII to revive them as a commercial enterprise. The legend behind those formulae — a bouquet of Capri wildflowers gathered for Queen Giovanna of Anjou in 1380 — gives the house its founding myth and its name. The contemporary catalogue is small and tightly Mediterranean: Mediterraneo (lemon and green tea), Fiori di Capri (the recreated 1948 floral), Uomo, Io Capri. Production is still carried out on Capri itself, in a small laboratory open to visitors, and distribution runs through niche perfumeries and the brand's own boutiques on the island and in major Italian cities. The visual identity — engraved blue-and-white labels, simple bottles — has remained almost unchanged for decades.