Pitti Fragranze Comes to The Social Hub: A Weekend of Scent, Cocktails, and Beauty

For Pitti Fragranze 2026, The Social Hub Firenze Lavagnini is taking artistic perfumery out of the fair’s halls and opening it up to the city with a program that, from September 11 to 13, spreads across the inner courtyard and the rooftop.

At the center of it all is Maison Tahité, and specifically Cacao Libertine, a gourmand fragrance built around the many shades of cacao. The pop-up opens Friday, September 11, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., with live music and interactive activities, and then stays open all weekend.

An entire itinerary has been built around the scent, and it speaks several languages at once. In the inner courtyard, Arte&Fiori will stage a botanical installation of plants, flowers, and essences that echo the notes of the fragrance. On the rooftop, Bar Manager Matteo Sanago has built a cocktail list in which every drink is conceived as a true olfactory pyramid — top, heart, and base notes — and set in conversation with the dishes at Osteria Lavagnini.

Also on the rooftop, ByTerry will run a beauty station with personalized makeup sessions by appointment with a professional. Scent, taste, botany, and beauty all become parts of a single event, built for the Pitti Fragranze crowd but also for anyone who simply lives in Florence.

That last point is exactly where we started when we sat down with Camilla Petitto, General Manager of The Social Hub Firenze Lavagnini.

For Pitti Fragranze you chose to build an experience that brings together perfumery, botany, mixology, and beauty. How did this project come about, and what did you want to say through the language of scent?

We’re delighted to launch this first collaboration with Pitti Fragranze, which feels like a natural fit with our identity and will help us build a complete, memorable sensory experience. Botany is already an integral part of our language, thanks to the plants and flowers that shape the atmosphere throughout our spaces. Mixology is another pillar, brought to life by the work of our bar manager, who pays close attention to the aromatic and olfactory side of cocktails. Beauty and perfumery round out the journey, adding an intimate, enveloping dimension. Through the language of scent we wanted to convey precisely this: an experience that engages the senses and takes people along with it, making The Social Hub a place to live in, but also to perceive and remember.

Pitti Fragranze is aimed mainly at industry professionals, while your program opens part of that world to the city as well. How important is it for The Social Hub to connect Florence’s major events with the people who live here every day?

Creating connections between Florence’s major events and the city is fundamental for The Social Hub. Our mission is to be a meeting point between what Florence offers culturally and the people who experience it every day. That’s why we’re glad to open part of the Pitti Fragranze universe to the local community. We want our spaces to be open, accessible, and recognizable to the city: places where residents, professionals, students, and visitors can meet, discover, take part, and have new experiences. Initiatives like this one let us bring different worlds closer together and create a dialogue that enriches both the event and the area around it. In short, our goal is to help make Florence an ever more connected, inclusive, and participatory city, where events don’t stay shut inside their own venues but become part of the community’s daily life.

The Social Hub started out as a hybrid hospitality model, but in Florence your spaces are increasingly becoming venues for events, culture, and social life. What kind of relationship do you want to build with the city, and how much do initiatives like this one say about how you imagine the role of a hotel today?

The Social Hub started out as a hybrid hospitality model, but in Florence it is increasingly taking on the role of a cultural and social space open to the city. Collaborations like Pitti Fragranze or Firenze Biennale say a lot about the direction we imagine for the contemporary hotel: no longer just a place to stay, but an environment that generates experiences, connections, and chances to meet. We want to build a relationship of openness and dialogue with Florence, one in which our spaces become accessible to the community and able to host events, culture, and new forms of participation. We believe that this integration of hospitality and city life helps create a more sustainable system, where residents, guests, and creatives share the same places and experience the city in a more balanced, inclusive way.