# Trussardi — Walking in Porta Venezia > Walking in Porta Venezia (2022, perfumer Pierre-Constantin Gueros) is the most distinctive entry in Trussardi's upscale Le Vie di Milano collection - a unisex, aromatic green-woody EDP built explicitl ## Essence Walking in Porta Venezia (2022, perfumer Pierre-Constantin Gueros) is the most distinctive entry in Trussardi's upscale Le Vie di Milano collection - a unisex, aromatic green-woody EDP built explicitly around absinthe/"Fee Verte." It's essentially a fragrant absinthe ritual: a bracing star-anise-and-wormwood opening drying down over pine-like fir, cedar and patchouli with a thread of bourbon vanilla. Its reputation is for being unusual and atmospheric rather than crowd-pleasing - reviewers love the herbal-liqueur opening while sometimes balking at its medicinal, "cold-medicine/pharmacy" facet. It's a connoisseur's herbal-green that rewards people who want something genuinely off the beaten path at a designer-ish price. ## Scent Profile The opening is the showstopper and the most-praised phase: a vivid, aromatic blast of star anise, lemon and black pepper - "the opening blast is amazing - lemon, pepper and anise." It quickly introduces the signature: wormwood/absinthe and artemisia, green and bitter and faintly milky, the "Fee Verte" effect the perfumer was chasing. This anisic-wormwood accord is polarizing - to some it's "weird, green and milky," even "janky absinthe" on first wearings; to others it's "a magical mouthwash from a fairy tale; anisic tooth powder, decorated with pine and bitter-green artemisia." Violet leaf and Madagascan geranium add a green-floral, slightly minty-peppery facet in the heart. The drydown is where it wins skeptics over: a "nice, vibrant, piney drydown...solid and camphorous from the fir and prick of patchouli," resinous fresh cedar with specks of birch, finishing soft and balsamic with a faint woody-vanilla sweetness and a "soapy" cleanliness. Notably non-linear - one reviewer described it as "a slideshow of visibly different compositions," with the usually-fleeting wormwood lingering for hours. Signature accord: absinthe/anise over pine-resin woods. ## Performance Performance is moderate. wearers metrics put longevity around qualitatively and sillage near qualitatively - i.e., decent longevity, modest projection. user longevity rating is notably higher (~qualitatively), and one reviewer was struck that the typically-fleeting wormwood note "lingers on my skin for a couple of hours," which is unusual for that material. The realistic read: several hours of wear with a refined, close-to-moderate sillage rather than a room-filling bomb. It's described as "effortless chic" and a "wonderful scent for working out," implying it sits at a tasteful, non-aggressive volume. No whitelisted critic-blog performance testing exists; the long-form fragrance blogs (NST, Cafleurebon, Colognoisseur) have not covered it, so this is wearers-metric signal. ## Wearing Context This is a versatile, year-round green that wearers members nonetheless peg best for spring and early summer, when the herbal-anise freshness reads brightest. It's pitched as "effortless chic...linen tunics and gladiator sandals" - daytime, smart-casual, outdoorsy - and one reviewer specifically endorses it for working out. Its strongest associations are "forest" and "pharmacy," so it shines in relaxed, nature-adjacent or creative settings and can feel out of place where a conventional crowd-pleaser is expected - the medicinal/absinthe edge isn't a date-night seduction scent for most noses ("with the scent of tummy tea and throat lozenges, you are not necessarily the heartthrob of the ladies' world," joked one reviewer). Genuinely unisex. Practical reading: best for someone who wants an interesting conversation-piece green rather than a safe signature. ## Comparisons & DNA Honest caveat first: the wearers treats this as "something unlike anything else," and there is no strong consensus dupe or one-to-one cross-house match - that distinctiveness is itself the headline. The most-repeated named comparison is in-house: Trussardi I Vicoli Via Fiori Chiari (Trussardi, same Le Vie di Milano line), which shares the "fresh herbs and anise" opening - one reviewer found Porta Venezia "reminds me of Via Fiori Chiari, but more wearable and not that loud," while another felt the two overlap enough that "I see no point in buying it" if you own Via Fiori Chiari. By contrast, a reviewer positioned it against Frederic Malle Geranium pour Monsieur (Editions de Parfum Frederic Malle), noting Porta Venezia is "certainly less minty" than the Malle - a contrast, not a match. Broadly, its DNA sits in the anise/absinthe-aromatic and pine-fougere space, but no whitelisted source confirms a specific twin. Impressionistic comparisons people actually make are to substances and Italian consumer goods - absinthe and aperitivo, Marvis toothpaste, Florinda soap, earl grey/mint tea - rather than other perfumes. No designer clone is known. ## Reception Among the (relatively small) wearers that has tried it, reception skews positive and even reverent, with the caveat that it's an acquired taste. In a editorial round-up of the line, a reviewer who collected seven Le Vie di Milano bottles named Walking in Porta Venezia their single favorite - "the most unique and atmospheric in the whole collection" - praising a "stunning fresh wormwood" that lingers, plus "green pine needles, resinous fresh cedar wood, and even some specks of birch." Praise centers on the bracing, original absinthe-herbal character and the satisfying piney drydown; the recurring criticism is the medicinal/"cold-medicine" facet and the divisive milky-wormwood opening that some need several wearings to adjust to ("almost sold it off, but kept coming back because of that beautiful aromatic opening"). lists it but carries no member reviews, and there's no critic coverage - this is a /-driven reputation. The line as a whole is described by enthusiasts as "an absolutely underrated collection...available for dirt-cheap prices online." Blind-buy verdict: blind-buy only if you actively like anise/absinthe and herbal-green oddities; otherwise sample first, because the medicinal edge is genuinely polarizing. ## Versions & Reformulation Walking in Porta Venezia is part of Trussardi Parfums' Le Vie di Milano collection, which launched in stores March 2020 under license by Angelini Beauty with six unisex scents; this one was added in the 2022 international-market expansion (alongside Alba sui Navigli). It's sold as a 100ml EDP. No reformulation is documented. One identity caveat worth flagging: an unrelated older Trussardi item also carried a "Porta Venezia" association on databases, but the subject here is the 2022 EDP - don't conflate them. Otherwise: single composition, no known reformulations. ## Acquisition Notes Pricing reflects a high nominal RRP with steep real-world discounting. The Le Vie di Milano line launched at €165 for the 100ml format, but it routinely sells far below that at discounters - price widget shows it around $79.99 at Jomashop, and it appears across FragranceNet, Strawberrynet, Beautinow and similar at heavy discounts (wearers members call the whole line "dirt-cheap" online). Bottle: a single 100ml EDP size; no other sizes found. It's widely available and not a limited edition (the Le Vie di Milano line is permanent), though distribution is more boutique/grey-market than mass department-store. Decants/samples circulate through split services for trying the polarizing opening first. No whitelisted counterfeiting or batch-decoding guidance was found; given its niche profile and modest street price, availability and discounter sourcing matter more than fake risk. ## Notable Facts & Lore - The fragrance is a deliberate olfactory portrait of Milan's Porta Venezia district and its first public park, evoking, per the brand and perfumer, a stroll through "vintage" late-1700s/retro Milan under the spell of absinthe - the "Fee Verte" (green fairy) of the "cursed poets." Perfumer Pierre-Constantin Gueros is documented speaking specifically about this creation: "The Fee Verte is the key that opened the door to my inspiration for Walking in Porta Venezia. - Thanks to multiple facets and contrasts, it was able to create the enchanted and sophisticated effect I was looking for." The broader Le Vie di Milano concept began with perfumers drawing an "olfactory map" of Milan; bottles are topped with a gold sculptural cap meant to depict the Trussardi greyhound's head - though a Now Smell This piece famously joked that the caps look like ducks. - The collection's conceit (each scent named for a Milan location) and its emphasis on quality raw materials at relatively accessible prices are central to its underground-favorite reputation among enthusiasts.