The Odeuropa project focuses on the key scents, fragrant spaces, and olfactory practices that have shaped the cultures of Europe.
The project bundles academic expertise from across many disciplines with further expertise from cultural heritage institutes, heritage organisations, policy makers, and the creative and fragrance industries.
The historical scent data will be curated and published in an online Encyclopaedia of Smell Heritage, describing the sensory qualities and meanings of the scents and tracing the storylines of key scents, fragrant places, and olfactory practices.
This database will become an archive for the olfactory heritage of Europe, enabling future generations to access and learn about the scented past.
In addition, a selection of European smells will be preserved and ‘reconstructed’ using heritage science techniques.
The ultimate goal of the Odeuropa project is to show that critically engaging our sense of smell and our scent heritage is an important and a viable means for connecting and promoting Europe’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage. (Source and further information: www.odeuropa.eu).