Published: Less than 30 min ago
1 of 4 Photo: Anna Karolina Eriksson/TT
Not blood red – rather a deep shade of pink, resilient and fragrant.
Rose breeder Antonio Marchese has captured Alfred Nobel in the form of a rose.
– I chose to combine several different roses to show how many inventions Alfred Nobel had, says Antonio Marchese to TT.
– And once we got as many as 15 flowers on one branch!
Roses by the villa
The bush roses stand on sturdy stems in the garden at Alfred Nobel’s villa in Sanremo. Despite the fact that it is almost December, they are extremely willing to flower. But the climate is also very mild in winter at the former Swedish scientist Nobel’s old residence.
– The rose was created for Nobel, to show the connection between Sweden and Sanremo, where Alfred Nobel produced a lot in his villa. Even dynamite….
– Now the rose is planted at Villa Nobel, and it blooms almost all year round.
It’s not just any roses. The fuchsia pink creations took Antonio Marchese several years to arrive at the right rose, with the right conditions, color and shape. In 2017, the rose was introduced.
“A color for humanity”
He pondered Alfred Nobel’s personality before the rose took shape.
– I didn’t choose the color red, because it reminds me of blood. This fuchsia pink color is strong but not red. A color that shows Alfred Nobel’s humanity, says Antonio Marchese.
On his rose farm on the hills outside the center of Sanremo in northern Italy, Antonio Marchese creates brand new roses with unique gene sets. The Nobel Rose is not the only celebrity in the context – Antionio Marchese is also behind the world-famous Rosa Mystica, a pale white beauty with red edges that was once commissioned by the Vatican.
When it comes to the Nobel Rose, Antonio Marchese describes the fragrant rose as a flower of peace.
– The person who invented dynamite did not create it with the intention of killing. Alfred Nobel brought peace and new inventions.
– He was an inventor, resilient and with a heart. Just like the rose.