Santa Maria Novella, Officine Universelle Buly and Granado have in common that they were born (and are still present) in shops full of history (often classified). These three brands offer perfumes, scented care products and home fragrances with a singular charm, a mixture of extreme refinement, culture, craftsmanship and luxury, which are increasingly successful in France and throughout the world.
A pharmacy in a Florentine convent
Let’s pay tribute to the oldest pharmacy: the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, a museum-shop that all lovers of the city of Florence know and whose history begins in 1221.
In that year the Dominican friars founded the convent of Santa Maria Novella and began to cultivate, among other things, a vegetable garden.
For several centuries they developed their botanical experience in pharmacopoeia and natural preparations (based on aromatic plants), before extending it to cosmetics, perfumes and wellness products, most of which still exist today.
Between 1332 and 1334, a rich merchant fell ill and was treated by the Dominican friars.
To thank them, he decided to finance the construction of the chapel of San Niccolò, the current heart of the Officina (also known as the “great sales room” with its frescoed Gothic vault and long wooden counters).
The sacristy, called the “water room”, kept the watery products from the distillation of herbs and roses.
The convent’s pharmacy officially opened to the public in 1542.
In 1612 it took its present name and became the Foundry of His Royal Highness.
Deeply linked to the history of Florence itself, considered the oldest pharmacy in …
