Some of the most precious ingredients in perfumery come from the sun-drenched south of Italy. Join us for an evening with Nicola Pozzani that traces the story of Italian citrus, from the groves of Calabria to the fragrance that changed European perfumery forever. We begin with Calabrian bergamot, the Italian ingredient par excellence, and discover how this extraordinary fruit became one of Italy’s greatest gifts to perfumery. You will then meet Giovanni Maria Farina, founder of Farina 1709 and creator of the Original Eau de Cologne, the source of the earliest documented use of bergamot in perfumery. Eau de Cologne won a devoted following in Britain, from Queen Victoria to Princess Diana. From there we will explore how citrus became a beloved genre up to the present day. The evening concludes with a sensory voyage across Italy. Enjoy a taste of Calabria with Farina 1709’s Bergamote Admirable Extrait de Cologne, inspired by Calabrian pâtisserie and Mandarine Bonheur Extrait de Cologne, built around a unique triptych of green, yellow and red Sicilian mandarins. An evening for perfume lovers, history enthusiasts and anyone curious about the stories behind scents.
Nicola Pozzani is an Italian award-winning fragrance creator and educator based in London. Trained by French Master Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena at the Università dell’Immagine of Milan, he specialises in European heritage perfumery. He has worked with brands including Acqua di Parma and The Merchant of Venice, and currently creates for the world’s oldest family perfumers: the House of Farina in Cologne, inventors of the Original Eau de Cologne, and Royal Perfumers Floris London, where he created for Queen Elizabeth II. Nicola guest lectures on fragrance for UCL’s Slade School of Fine Arts and ISIPCA University of Versailles-University of Padua, amongst others. He is an Associate Member of the British Society of Perfumers and Fragrance Foundation UK.
Important Information:
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Feature image: Medici Citrus Collection, painted by Bartolomeo Bimbi (15 May 1648 – 14 January 1729)
Save the date for our 85th Anniversary Celebration and pre-Christmas drinks, held at the House of Lords.
Full details to be announced soon.
Please note that this event is by invitation only and reserved for members. Formal invitations will be sent via email.
Hyperdiversity: Challenge or Opportunity?
We live in the most diverse era in history. Diversity gets a bad press, but it allows us to tap into all the talent that has been left on the sidelines. If we do nothing, however, we risk decline. How can Italy, or indeed Britain, innovate policy and institutions to adapt to this hyperdiverse world?
Prof. Francesco Billari is Professor of Demography and Rector of Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. He has been a professor at Oxford University and Nuffield College and research director at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. He is also a Fellow of the British Academy and an Affiliate of the Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania. His main research interests are population change and its implications, fertility and family, transition to adulthood, life cycle analysis, population forecasting, digitalization and demography, and comparative surveys. His work has been published in leading scientific journals on demography, economics, epidemiology and public health, geography, sociology and statistics.
Participation in the AGM is free of charge but registration is required. Please register by clicking the “book now” button.
The meeting will last approximately 20 minutes and it will be followed at 7 pm by the lecture A Journey Through Italian Citrus and the Bistro of Original Eau de Cologne, by Nicola Pozzani.
If you wish to attend the lecture following the AGM, please book separately by heading the relevant event page. Thank you.
DISCLAIMER: By participating in a BIS webinar or live event you automatically agree to authorise recording of audio and visual content during the event and consent to subsequent use of the recording in the public domain. This recording may include questions, comments and poll responses provided by you during the event in addition to your name, voice, image or likeness. This recording will be made available after the conclusion of the live event as part of the BIS webinar archives, and will remain available indefinitely. If you do not wish to consent to the recording, please do not join the event or contact us to discuss your concerns.
SOLD OUT !
Queen‘s House, Greenwich
A Curator-Led Visit & Demonstration of
Canaletto’s Use of the Camera Obscura
with
Professor Philip Steadman
Architect and Author of Canaletto’s Camera
Dr Allison Goodie
Curator
Dr Maya Wassell Smith
Assistant Curator
This exclusive members‑only event offers the opportunity to step inside England’s first Classical building, designed by Inigo Jones and inspired by the Renaissance architecture of the Veneto and Andrea Palladio, for a fascinating afternoon at the Queens’ House concluding with tea on the balcony. Small groups will be led by a team of curators to explore the house and some of the highlights of its collection, followed by a demonstration on how Canaletto may have used the camera obscura to achieve the remarkable precision of his celebrated views of London and Venice.
Professor Philip Steadman – Emeritus Professor of Urban and Built Form Studies at University College London. He trained as an architect and has taught at Cambridge University and the Open University. In the 1960s he edited and published Form, a quarterly magazine of the arts, and co-authored a book on kinetic art. He helped to produce four computer-animated films on the work of Leonardo da Vinci for an exhibition in London in 1989. In 2001 he published Vermeer’s Camera (Oxford University Press), on the Dutch painter’s use of the camera obscura. His latest book, Canaletto’s Camera (UCL Press), published in 2025, is a kind of sequel.
Dr Allison Goudie – Curator of Art Pre-1750 at Royal Museums Greenwich. Prior to this, she worked as a curator at the National Gallery, London, the National Trust and Kenwood House. She completed her PhD at Oxford in 2014 on portraits of Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples, and held, among other research fellowships, a Rome Award at the British School at Rome.
Dr Maya Wassell Smith – Assistant Curator of Art at Royal Museums Greenwich, working primarily with the Decorative Arts. She has previously held positions at Newham Borough Collections, SS Great Britain Museum, and Leeds Museum and Art Galleries. She completed her PhD in 2026 on sailors’ craftwork in the long nineteenth century.
A join event with The Venice in Peril Fund
Photo credits: By Bill Bertram – https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=691705