Johann Maria Farina
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Johann Maria Farina (1685-1766), also known as Giovanni Maria Farina, was a German-Italian Cologne perfume maker primarily responsible for establishing Eau de Cologne. In German it is known as Kölnisch Wasser.
At the beginning of the 18th century, Johann Maria Farina, created a new fragrance which he named Eau de Cologne. This fragrance was something very new in contrast to the sultry, sweet fragrances in use at the time. With his Eau de Cologne, Johann Maria Farina made Cologne world famous as a city of perfume in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Johann Maria Farina died in 1766, and is interred in the Melaten-Friedhof (cemetery) in Cologne, where a cenotaph commemorates his invention.
He is honored by a statue at the Town Hall of Cologne. The Farina family still produces Eau de Cologne according to the original recipe: an individual in each subsequent generation has been called Johann Maria Farina.
Many famous people were amongst his customers, Charles VI of Austria, Maria Theresa of Austria, Clemens August I of Bavaria, and Frederick William I of Prussia.
Today the term eau de cologne is used worldwide to refer to a light fragrance, especially one with a low concentration of aromatic substances in solvent.
[edit] External links
- Eau de Cologne (German)
