Ave Maria by Prince Matchabelli (1926)

Launched in 1926, Ave Maria by Prince Matchabelli was more than a fragrance—it was a deeply personal homage, a fragrant prayer composed in honor of the prince’s wife, Norina Gilli, known on stage as Maria Carmi. The name Ave Maria, Latin for “Hail Mary,” is pronounced AH-vay mah-REE-ah and is instantly recognized around the world as the opening line of one of the most famous Catholic prayers. By naming the fragrance after this sacred phrase, Prince Matchabelli signaled a composition of reverence and elevation—what he described as a “lovely prayer in perfume.” The inspiration came directly from Norina’s celebrated portrayal of the Madonna in Max Reinhardt’s mystical stage production The Miracle—a role so moving that Georges Matchabelli felt compelled to immortalize her performance in scent.

The name Ave Maria evokes powerful and layered imagery: candlelit chapels filled with incense, stained glass windows glowing in quiet reverence, and the serene beauty of the Virgin figure adorned in flowing robes and lilies. But it also carries emotional weight—purity, love, longing, and spiritual awakening. To wear a perfume called Ave Maria in the 1920s would have meant something more than just a choice of fragrance; it was a poetic gesture, a quiet declaration of inner grace or idealized femininity. At a time when women were exploring newfound freedoms and expressing their identity through beauty and fashion, this scent offered a uniquely introspective, almost sacred kind of glamour.

The perfume emerged during the height of the Roaring Twenties—a decade marked by liberation, spectacle, and a shifting social landscape. The world was changing rapidly: jazz filled the air, women had recently won the right to vote, and beauty became a form of self-expression like never before. Fashion favored sleek silhouettes, dramatic makeup, and bold accessories, and perfumery responded with complex, long-lasting scents that mirrored this modern woman’s confidence and sophistication. But within this swirl of hedonism and forward motion, Ave Maria offered something deeper—a counterbalance of spirituality, theatrical mysticism, and emotional resonance.