When I was in my college years, I spent a lot of time in Florence (Italian boyfriends), and always wanted to go into the Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella (aka the Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy, with all of its gorgeous soaps, perfumes, and creams—with the most beautiful packaging); but I was afraid that it was way too expensive for my super-tight budget. I finally made it there last year, when we were producing our story on Pitti, and was lucky to be given a tour by Gianluca Foa, the chief commercial officer for the brand. (In case you don’t know it, this pharmacy was founded in the 13th century by Dominican friars, and is housed in a cloister, next to the famed church—together they are some of the most beautiful buildings in all of Florence.)
We started with some tea and cookies in their tea room (many visitors don’t know they have one!)—everything made by SMN. Then we headed into the museum, where we saw some of the first stills that were used to distill the Acqua di Rose, which was used as a disinfectant and remedy during the 15th-century plague, and is still being made today; there was also a large collection of majolica pharmacy jars—gorgeous, and apparently one of the most comprehensive collections in Tuscany. After working our way through the ancient rooms, we made it to the 20th century, where we fell in love with all the clever packaging—especially for old beard tonics and anti-hysteria water. After that tour, we headed out to their factory, where they make almost all the preparations by hand.
While anyone can have a tour of the pharmacy, you can’t get into the factory—it just isn’t set up for that. We had to put on hairnets and booties, because everything in there is so precious and can’t be contaminated by the outside. We saw them putting on the labels by hand, stuffing boxes by hand…everything…fatta a mano! It was so amazing, and refreshing, to see a company doing things the same way for more than 400 years, and not selling out to a big company; employing locals who are experts at what they do…and not mechanizing everything. (Watch the video below to see what I’m talking about.) Sadly, we didn’t have time to make it to the garden, where they grow most of what they use in their products—roses, lavender, mint… (next time!).
After our tour, we came back to the pharmacy, where we bought out the entire store. Okay, not really, but we fell in love with so much, and there were the perfect gifts to bring back. My favorites? The mints they call Pasticche di S.M. Novella, which are an ancient preparation that the monks developed, “for digestive and calming properties.” And the Acqua di Santa Maria Novella, which is literally “anti-hysteric water.” I brought this back from some of my colleagues, and I’m hoping it works. I also became addicted to their sun lotion (all natural, nothing bad in it, and actually absorbs into the skin), and their perfumes…love every one of them.