Maria Luigia, Napoleon’s wife, could love no flower other than purple, the symbol of good omen in nobility. From the moment the duchess decided to live in Parma away from her husband that was also nicknamed Caporal violet (the violet corporal), the violet became the emblem on all her objects, now preserved in the Glauco Lombardi Museum, just as it became her favorite decoration and the color of the servants’ uniforms. She breathed its scent and shipped bouquets of violets to her daughter as a sign of love. Since that time, Parma has its symbolic flower, that is also the essence of the “Violetta di Parma”, a perfume produced by the local perfume house Borsari.
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