The Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy located in Florence, Italy is known as the “Oldest Pharmacy in the World” and was founded in 1221 by the Dominican Friars associated with the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella. They built this Church because their sermons were attracting quite a crowd and they need a bigger church than Santa Maria delle Vigne outside the City’s walls. The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella is Florence’s first great Basilica. T has a beautiful, ornate marble façade which was later added in the 15th century by Leon Battista Alberti. Within the Basilica are great works of art and sculpture by Giotto or Ghirlandaio. I was amazed at the size of the Basilica, it was enormous and contained many chapels and courtyards and museum spaces.
But the focus of this is on the ancient apothecary which also had ornate and fascinating designs of its own. The Officina Profuma-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella still sells products that are produced using ancient formulas, the main one being perfume that is very beloved and valued by society today. The popular site was busy, and still sells perfume of the highest quality that I noticed when I went to Rome, they had a offshoot of this “Profuma” there as well.
The perfumery was established after creating a very sought-after scent for the Queen developed by the friars, by the 16th century the site was devoted to formulas perfected for a perfumery. The site has a beautiful carved wood ceiling, along with intricate carved wood paneling, sparkling chandeliers and beautifully painted frescoed ceilings.
In one room which was originally the Old Sales Room, the historic manuscripts, herbs, tools for apothecary practices and equipment is on display in glass showcases. I stopped to admire and old mortar and pestle which I was sure ground up pharmaceuticals or herbs for the perfume scents in the past.
I smelled a multitude of wonderful perfume aromas, only wishing I could find one that would be possible to travel with in my carry-on which I never did find. But I was glad I visited and know that this will be a popular site for tourists to visit for quite some time.
There is even an herb garden outside the perfumery is a recreated enclosed garden that produces fresh herbs for its product’s preparations. This connects us to the botanicals that are essential to the perfumes that are created in this historic place.
The following photos are from the Perfumery and also from the Basilica Santa Maria Novella.
