The Orto Botanico di Firenze is marked by a tall, iron-wrought gate tucked behind a wall on Via Micheli. Established in fifteen forty-five by Cosimo the First de' Medici, it remains one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. Its…
Monastic Pharmacies and Perfumes
This walk traces Florence’s ancient apothecary tradition, leading you through historic botanical gardens and centuries-old herbalist shops to the world's oldest operating pharmacy.
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1. Orto Botanico Giardino dei Semplici - Università di Firenze
2. Farmacia SS. Annunziata dal 1561 Firenze Italy
The Farmacia Santissima Annunziata is marked by a modest, dark wooden entrance tucked under a stone archway on Via dei Servi. Since fifteen sixty-one, Dominican friars operated a laboratory here to distill herbal remedies and perfumes for…
3. Antica Spezieria Erboristeria San Simone Firenze
The Antica Spezieria Erboristeria San Simone features a wooden sign hanging above the door, marked with a gilded mortar and pestle. This shop operates in the exact rooms where monks from the nearby Santa Croce monastery once prepared…
4. Dott. A. Bizzarri
The heavy wooden door at Dottor Amedeo Bizzarri is usually propped open, revealing rows of glass jars filled with dried herbs, powders, and colorful resins that reach toward the ceiling. This shop has operated as an apothecary since…
5. Spezierie Palazzo Vecchio
The Spezierie Palazzo Vecchio sits behind a modest, unassuming wooden door on the street level of a massive stone fortress. Inside, the shop carries the scent of rare resins and dried roots, continuing a tradition of alchemy and apothecary…
6. Antica Farmacia del Cinghiale
The Antica Farmacia del Cinghiale is marked by a carved wild boar, the cinghiale, mounted above the entrance. This pharmacy has served the neighborhood since the eighteenth century, though its roots stretch back much further through…
7. Officina Profumo - Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella
The Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella occupies a former chapel filled with frescoes and vaulted ceilings, identifiable by the brass plaque outside marking it as one of the oldest pharmacies in the world. Dominican friars…