Heaven Scent

A 600-year-old pharmacy started by Florentine monks is now a trendy global marketer of perfumes and medieval elixirs

  • By Mishal Husain
  • Photographs by Scott S. Warren
  • Smithsonian magazine, February 2008, Subscribe
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The old pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella, which was used as the sales and showroom from 1612 to 1848, is now an herbal shop. It retains its 17th century decor and furnishings.

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For those who fancy themselves a modern-day Catherine de' Medici, the pharmacy produces a fragrance similar to the "water of the queen," although it now goes by the less regal name of Eau de Cologne Classica. Some 40 colognes, in fact, are offered, catering to a huge range of tastes. The current managing director, an urbane Florentine named Eugenio Alphandery, has expanded his clientele still further with a new fragrance, Nostalgia, based on his own passion—fast cars. A whiff of the cologne evokes nothing so much as leather seats, tires on a track and a hint of gasoline fumes.

Catherine de' Medici, where art thou?

Mishal Husain is an anchor for BBC World and lives in London.
Scott S. Warren works out of Durango, Colorado.


Among Florence's churches, Santa Maria Novella is often overlooked: it lacks the grandeur of the Duomo and the poignancy of Santa Croce, where Michelangelo and Galileo are entombed. And while its Renaissance frescoes may rival those of San Marco, its location in a seedy neighborhood near the city's main train station keeps it off the radar of many visitors to the City of Lilies.

But as home to one of the world's oldest pharmacies, Santa Maria Novella boasts an attraction no other church in Italy can match. Dominican monks began concocting herbal remedies here in the 13th century, in the time of Giotto and Dante. Today, the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella still sells traditional elixirs, along with more contemporary skin-care products, oils and perfumes.

From the outside, the church offers little sign of the aromatic riches within. But around the corner from its main entrance, an enormous wooden door opens into another world, where the strong, sweet fragrance of flowers and essential oils wafts through the pharmacy's historic rooms. The monks' simple apparatus for distilling flower water rests inside wooden cabinets, flanked by old containers used for lotions and potions, lists of ingredients and even the monks' original recipe ledgers. Merchandise lines the walls of the dimly lit, frescoed rooms—all manner of soaps, sachets and scents, many made according to ancient formulas.

The Dominicans, an order devoted to poverty and charity, first arrived in Florence in 1219, in the last years of Saint Dominic, who would die in Bologna in 1221. His followers took over a church, then called Santa Maria delle Vigne, and began the process of transforming it into a monastery. At the time, the Dominicans were engaged in fierce competition with the Franciscans for the loyalty of medieval Florentines in what would soon become one of Europe's wealthiest and most powerful cities. Their cause was helped by a Verona-born Dominican, later known as Saint Peter the Martyr, who attracted huge crowds to his sermons at Santa Maria Novella, as Santa Maria delle Vigne had come to be known.

By 1381, the Dominicans were operating an infirmary there, with herbal remedies made by the monks themselves. Among the first distillates was rose water, a simple essence prescribed as an antiseptic to clean houses after an outbreak of plague. (It remains on the pharmacy's shelves today, although it's now more likely to be used for perfume or aromatherapy.)

Also among the early creations were tonics reflecting the sensibility of the times: the imaginatively named "Vinegar of the Seven Thieves," for example, was a popular remedy for women suffering from "fainting fits." The vinegar is still available for those in need of a quick pick-me-up. Also available to Florentine ladies was a concoction designed to calm "hysterical women." It, too, is still on the shelves, bearing the innocuous name Santa Maria Novella Water—now recommended for its "antispasmodic properties."

By the late 15th century, Florence was plunged into turmoil, with political attacks on the Medici dynasty spurred by the fiery preaching of the Dominican monk Savonarola—who denounced all vice and exhorted the citizens of Florence to burn their finery in a "bonfire of vanities." The pharmacy's nostrums, however, were mostly medicinal, and the monks quietly labored on. By the mid-16th century, relative calm had returned to the city under the rule of Cosimo de' Medici.

By then the monastery's pharmaceutical activities were being run as a separate business, managed by a layman and, it appears, were profitable. One entry in church records reports a large investment in vases, stoppers and pestles. The operation's manufacture of perfumes was apparently key to winning the allegiance of its most famous customer, Catherine de' Medici.

She had been born in Florence in 1519, and at age 14 famously became the bride of Henry, Duke of Orleans, the future king of France. She proved a legendary figure both for her political intrigues and her love of novelty: she is credited with promoting, in the French Court, innovations ranging from the sidesaddle to the handkerchief—even tobacco. The pharmacy created a new fragrance for her, a perfume that became known as acqua della regina, or "water of the queen." In due course, Catherine's patronage proved the making of the place.

The growth of the business was not welcomed by all; unease among some monks that the sweet smell of success might distract from the Christian pieties led to a temporary shutdown of the production of medicines in the early 1600s. But manufacture resumed in 1612, for a run of two and a half centuries. In 1866 the Italian state confiscated all church property. The move could have been the pharmacy's death knell but for the vision of the last monk to act as its director, Damiano Beni. In a deft move, he handed over control of the enterprise to his layman nephew, who eventually bought it from the state. His descendants remain involved in the business today.

As a secular endeavor, the pharmacy could fully exploit the trends of the times. In the 1700s, it had expanded its product line from distilling medicines and perfumes to manufacturing alcohol. In the 19th century, as alcohol-laden patent medicines and tonics became all the rage in the United States, the pharmacy's liqueur, Alkermes—advertised as a way to "revive weary and lazy spirits"—became a top seller.

Today the pharmacy still occupies its historic quarters, but it has expanded into an international concern, with stores in New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo. Eight years ago it opened a small factory two miles away, where the monks' ancient techniques have been streamlined, but where much of the manufacturing continues to be done by hand. The factory can turn out 500 bars of soap a day in any one of 25 varieties; each bar is then aged for a month before being chiseled by hand into its final shape.

For those who fancy themselves a modern-day Catherine de' Medici, the pharmacy produces a fragrance similar to the "water of the queen," although it now goes by the less regal name of Eau de Cologne Classica. Some 40 colognes, in fact, are offered, catering to a huge range of tastes. The current managing director, an urbane Florentine named Eugenio Alphandery, has expanded his clientele still further with a new fragrance, Nostalgia, based on his own passion—fast cars. A whiff of the cologne evokes nothing so much as leather seats, tires on a track and a hint of gasoline fumes.

Catherine de' Medici, where art thou?

Mishal Husain is an anchor for BBC World and lives in London.
Scott S. Warren works out of Durango, Colorado.


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Comments (19)

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I am looking to replace the room fragrance/oilGAROFANO is it available in the USA?

Posted by GABRIELLA STEELE on February 13,2012 | 08:06 AM

Is there a store in New York City - Manhattan or a store that carries your products.

I was given it as a gift and now have run out and am desperate to make a purchase.

Grazia,
Teresa

Posted by Teresa Sigismondo on December 20,2009 | 05:49 PM

I like very much their shaving products for men. However, the price has doubled in a short 4 years and the packaging is extremely wasteful, which I'd rather not pay for or have to dispose of.

Posted by John Chrighton on October 15,2009 | 03:06 PM

Where can I purchase the pot-pourri (on-line)of the oficina farmauceticadi s maria novella Firenzi???

Posted by anne wynne on September 20,2009 | 09:59 PM

All manner of perfumes, elixirs, lotions and antique preparations a Medici could want! They also make wonderful jams and flavored honeys. On a recent trip I purchased Frutta di Bosco (fruits of the forest)jam, scented wax tablets for my linen drawers and a bottle of Alkermes. Formulated by the friar-chemist Fra Cosimo to offset weary and lazy spirits, alkermes liqueur is also used to flavor the Savoiardi or ladyfingers in a zuppa inglese or English trifle.

Posted by P. Marasco - COSITUTTI.com on October 7,2008 | 10:51 AM

The website is http://www.lafcony.com/ and it gives the locations of all of the stores. The New York ones is located at 285 Lafayette St, zip code: 10012, phone # (212)925-0001 LA is located at 8411 Melrose Place, zip 90069, phone # (323)651-3754 Dallas is 66 Highland Park Village, zip 75205, phone # (214)522-8880. Enjoy!

Posted by Lauren H on October 1,2008 | 02:11 PM

My family is going to Florence in June and I was wondering if there were any tips or directions to this place anyone could give us. From the comments above it seems to be a bit of a hunt. Anyway, just thought I would ask. Jeska, MN

Posted by Jeska Wagner on May 25,2008 | 08:21 AM

I loved this article and am trying to figure out how to find their perfume in the USA. Also, where is the additional information on Catherine de'Medici? Your magazine is always so interesting. Regards,Jan Bealer Bethlehem, PA

Posted by Janis M. Bealer on April 20,2008 | 10:11 PM

I visited the pharmacy in Florence recently and it took me some time to find it, and I felt like I had accomplished a mission. I had read of the pharmacy in Smithsonian and was determined to find it on my visit to Florence. It is in a very unimposing location and required some searching.

Posted by Frances Ann Mosier on April 15,2008 | 12:05 PM

Will you please advise where the NYC store is located for the pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella, re: smithsonian magazine Feb. 2008. Thank you.

Posted by RoseMarie's Tours on April 5,2008 | 11:10 AM

Such a disappointment that no addtional information/photos are actually available, as indicated by the blue line tab, at page 80, in the February, '08 issue. Darn! An avid "Smithsonian" reader from Cedar Falls, Ia Sandy Jo Messingham

Posted by Sandy Jo Messingham on April 2,2008 | 10:50 AM

You can find Santa Maria Novella in Neiman Marcus, NorthPark in Dallas, TX. The number is 214-363-8311. It's wonderful!

Posted by Robin Moody on March 13,2008 | 11:09 PM

The magazine article invites the reader to know more about Caterina de' Medici as a client of the Santa Maria Novella pharmacy by going to this internet page. I can't find any more info, the article seems to be the same. Please help me locate the info. Thanks, Pat

Posted by patricia bellevue on March 9,2008 | 03:05 PM

How do I contact a store in the U.S. via Internet? Thanks, Linda Yule

Posted by Linda Yule on March 1,2008 | 02:19 PM



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