Santa Maria Novella has roots dating back to 1225 as a Dominican Friars convention in Firenze, modern-day Florence… and is the oldest operational patient-centric pharmacy in the Western world
- The order of Dominican Friars arrived in 1219 and settled into a monastery titled Santa Maria Delle Vigne
- The church eventually built a private pharmacy and medical infirmary largely serving the Medici family…
The Santa Maria Novella officially opened to the public in 1542 and was formally christened with its current title ‘Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica’ in 1612 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany
- A critical apothecary potion was ‘Acqua di Rose’ rosewater distillate dating from the 1400’s, modified for use as a potent antiseptic to disinfect homes to protect from the plague… one of the early examples of assayed medicines developed over four centuries to address patient-centric needs