Article: Pantheon Roma: Raphael, the Fornarina and scents from Rome
Pantheon Roma: Raphael, the Fornarina and scents from Rome
A painter, a baker's daughter and a tomb beneath the most famous dome in Rome: that is the story Pantheon Roma tells in bottles. Behind the house are a father and a son who have known Italian niche perfumery for decades. We introduce Paolo and Leone Fadelli, tell the legend of Raphael and his Fornarina and show which Pantheon fragrance suits you.
- Who: Paolo Fadelli and his son Leone Fadelli, on the market with their own fragrances since 2013.
- The idea: a homage to the Italian Renaissance and to Raphael, who is buried in the Pantheon in Rome.
- The fragrances: all Extrait de Parfum, many composed by the perfumer Arturetto Landi, a close friend of the house.
- The best-known fragrances: Trastevere with vanilla and chestnut, and Annone with saffron, rose and oud.
- In our shop you will find the Classic Collection and the Special Collection R.O.M.A.
Who is behind Pantheon Roma?
Two generations. Over more than thirty years, Paolo Fadelli has selected and launched numerous niche brands in Italy, including houses such as Clive Christian, Byredo and Nasomatto. His son Leone studied economics and marketing and wrote his thesis on artistic perfumery. Together they founded Pantheon Roma. The first four fragrances, Raffaello, Donna Margherita, Il Giardino and Notte d'Amore, came out in 2013.
About what drives them, the two say: "Raccontare con i profumi una storia d'amore del Rinascimento è una delle cose più esaltanti che un appassionato di Profumeria d'Arte possa fare." In English: telling a Renaissance love story through fragrances is one of the most exciting things a lover of artistic perfumery can do.
Behind the house is the family company JOY S.p.A. from Pergola in the Marche region. In Rome, Pantheon Roma has run its own boutique on Via Vittoria since 2022. According to the brand, its fragrances are also sold today in houses such as Harrods in London and Jovoy in Paris.
What story does Pantheon Roma tell?
The story of Raphael. The painter from Urbino was called to Rome by the Pope to decorate the papal apartments in the Vatican. According to the brand's telling, he was engaged to a woman of his rank but fell in love with Margherita, the daughter of a baker from the Trastevere district. A forbidden love, because worlds lay between the two. They met in secret in the garden behind the bakery. After a night of love Raphael fell ill and died, and he was buried in the Pantheon.
How much of it is true? Raphael really did die in Rome in 1520, aged only 37, and he lies in the Pantheon. His famous portrait "La Fornarina", the little baker girl, hangs today in Palazzo Barberini. Tradition names the sitter as Margherita Luti, but her identity is not documented. So the love story is a legend, but a very beautiful one that inspired later painters such as Ingres.
The first fragrances grew out of this story: Raffaello for the painter, Donna Margherita for his beloved, Il Giardino for the secret garden and Notte d'Amore for that one night. Trastevere, finally, is dedicated to the district where bakers and pastry makers were at home. The founders explain the brand's name in two ways: as Raphael's resting place and with "il cerchio e il quadrato che disegnano il Pantheon", the circle and the square from which the building is drawn.
Who creates the fragrances?
Above all Arturetto Landi, whom the Fadellis call their "amico fraterno", a friend like a brother. He composed Trastevere, Donna Margherita, Annone and Anniversario, among others. For the newest fragrance of the Special Collection, O, the house worked with the perfumer Chris Maurice in 2025. All Pantheon Roma fragrances are Extraits de Parfum, the highest concentration. What that means for longevity and sillage is explained in our article Eau de Toilette, Eau de Parfum or Extrait: What Is the Difference?.
The fragrance Annone recalls a real animal. Hanno was a white elephant that King Manuel I of Portugal gave to Pope Leo X in 1514. Rome was at its feet. When Hanno died two years later, the Pope commissioned a memorial painting, made after designs by Raphael.
Which Pantheon fragrances can you find in our shop?
The Classic Collection tells of Raphael's Rome from light to dark. Above, the four fragrances from the very beginning; below, the gourmands and the oud fragrances:
RaffaelloAbsinthe, pepper, leather, teakfrom €160
Donna MargheritaTuberose, jasmine, narcissusfrom €160
Il GiardinoIvy, pear, apple, vetiverfrom €160
Notte d'AmoreBergamot, rose, tonka, oudfrom €160
TrastevereVanilla, liquorice, chestnut creamfrom €160
AnnoneSaffron, mango, rose, oudfrom €160
AnniversarioBerries, saffron, rose, oudfrom €160
NeroneCoconut, saffron, brown sugar, leatherfrom €160
Prices live from our shop, as of 25 Oct 2026. All fragrances of the house, including Auris, Così Blu, Dolce Passione and Annone Supremo, can be found under Pantheon Roma.
The love story: Raffaello, Donna Margherita, Il Giardino, Notte d'Amore
Raffaello opens cool with absinthe, warms up with tonka and pepper and ends in leather, teak and patchouli. How leather gets into a fragrance is explained in Leather in Perfume: How Does Something Smell That Was Never in the Bottle?. Donna Margherita is a lavish white bouquet of tuberose, jasmine, narcissus and frangipani. Il Giardino smells green of ivy, apple and pear, with vetiver and leather underneath. Notte d'Amore combines bergamot with rose, orange blossom, tonka and a touch of oud.
Sweet Rome: Trastevere and Nerone
Trastevere, presented at the Esxence fragrance fair in Milan in 2015, is one of the best-known fragrances of the house. Vanilla, liquorice and caramel on chestnut cream, like a sip of Baileys in front of the fire. We also featured it in our article Gourmand Perfume: 7 Mouth-Watering Fragrances for Autumn and Winter, and why vanilla makes so many people happy is explained in Vanilla in perfume: from orchid to favourite scent. Nerone is dedicated to Emperor Nero's Golden House, the Domus Aurea: coconut, saffron, brown sugar, vanilla and leather.
Saffron, rose and oud: Annone and Anniversario
Annone opens with bergamot, saffron and mango, with rose and iris in the heart and amber, nagarmotha and oud in the base. Anniversario was created in 2020, 500 years after Raphael's death, with red berries, saffron, rose, jasmine, patchouli and oud. Read more about the queen of flowers in Rose in perfume: the queen of fragrance materials.
What is the Special Collection R.O.M.A.?
Four letters, four fragrances, one word: R, O, M and A together spell ROMA. R and M appeared in 2020, A in 2023, and with O the circle closed in 2025. The O is dedicated to the oculus, the round opening in the dome of the Pantheon. The brand writes: "L'eternità si disegna in un cerchio perfetto", eternity is drawn in a perfect circle. In our shop you will find all four individually, from the spicy, leathery R to the rosy M.
Curiosities about the Pantheon
A temple, a dome, a shower of roses
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As high as it is wide
The interior of the Pantheon is 43.44 metres high and exactly as wide. A sphere would fit perfectly into the dome.
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The largest dome of its kind
After around 1,900 years it is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world.
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Rain in the living room
It rains in through the oculus, almost nine metres wide. The floor is slightly curved, and 22 drainage holes carry the water away.
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Roses from the sky
At Pentecost the Roman fire brigade lets red rose petals rain down through the oculus, as a sign of the Holy Spirit.
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From temple to church
On 13 May 609, Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon as the church of Santa Maria ad Martyres. That is considered one reason why it is so well preserved today.
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An epitaph like a poem
Raphael's tomb bears a Latin epitaph by the poet Pietro Bembo. Roughly: here lies Raphael, by whom Nature feared to be outdone while he lived.
- Founders: Paolo and Leone Fadelli; company JOY S.p.A., Pergola (Marche).
- First fragrances: Raffaello, Donna Margherita, Il Giardino, Notte d'Amore (2013).
- House perfumer: Arturetto Landi, including Trastevere (2015), Annone (2018), Anniversario (2020).
- Concentration: all fragrances as Extrait de Parfum.
- Boutique: Rome, Via Vittoria, opened 2022.
Frequently asked questions about Pantheon Roma
Who founded Pantheon Roma?
Paolo Fadelli and his son Leone Fadelli. Before that, Paolo Fadelli spent more than thirty years launching niche brands in Italy.
Where does the name Pantheon Roma come from?
From the Pantheon in Rome, where the painter Raphael is buried. His love story with the baker's daughter Margherita is the theme of the brand.
What is the most popular Pantheon Roma fragrance?
Particularly well known are Trastevere, a gourmand with vanilla, liquorice and chestnut cream, and Annone with saffron, rose and oud.
Are the fragrances Extraits de Parfum?
Yes. All Pantheon Roma fragrances are Extraits de Parfum and correspondingly intense and long-lasting.
What does R.O.M.A. mean?
The Special Collection consists of four fragrances, R, O, M and A, which together spell ROMA. O from 2025 is dedicated to the oculus of the Pantheon.
Can I try Pantheon Roma first?
Yes. With every bottle of 30 ml or more we include a 2 ml sample of the same fragrance, and in our boutique in Bregenz you can try all the fragrances at your leisure.
Smell first, then fall in love
Raphael's Rome smells sometimes of a bakery, sometimes of a garden, sometimes of incense and oud. It is best discovered on your own skin. With every bottle of 30 ml or more we include a 2 ml sample of the same fragrance; from an order value of € 90, four more 2 ml samples of your choice, subject to availability (note your wishes in the order comment). From an order value of € 200, standard shipping to Austria and Germany is free.
Or visit us in our boutique in Bregenz and travel right across Rome, from Trastevere to the Pantheon. We introduce another Italian house with a great story in Agatho Parfum: Pompeii in a bottle, porcelain on top.
Your 4D Outfitters team, Bregenz
Sources: Pantheon Roma: About us · Pantheon Roma: Storia · Pantheon Roma · Pantheon Roma: O · Pantheon Roma: Rome boutique · Milano Finanza · Fragrantica: Trastevere · Pantheon (official site of the monument) · Britannica: Pantheon · Wikipedia: Pantheon · Wikipedia: La Fornarina · Wikipedia: Hanno · Wikipedia: Raphael
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