San Gimignano and One of the Oldest and Most Fascinating Pharmacies in Italy and Its Herb and Spice Garden

When most people think of San Gimignano they think of a town of skyscrapers, characterised by the numerous towers within its medieval walls, surrounded by the most beautiful Tuscan countryside that there is to see. What most people don't know is that San Gimignano was also a stopping point for pilgrims travelling to Rome and within San Gimignano were eight hospitals with one 'pharmacy' or apothecary supporting them. Also, this sixteenth century apothecary is one of the oldest in Italy. It has been kept unadulterated and its appearance is what it was centuries ago.

Today the collection of the Apothecary represents one of the most beautiful and interesting collections in San Gimignano. Set on the first floor of the museum in the former Conservatorio di Santa Chiara, the display exhibits more than 100 ceramic and glass wares from the 14th century and features the original structure of the pharmacy "shop", where the medicines were sold, and the "kitchen" where they were prepared. On display also are some of the drugs that would have been used. Some of these are preserved in ceramic and glass vessels and were manufactured on the basis of precise information, collected in ancient recipes. On display also are the pharmacopoeia books from that time and the apparatus in which pharmaceuticals were prepared.



To make this fascinating experience even more enriching, imagine a kind of open-air museum where you can walk among aromatic and medicinal herbs, breathing in the aromas and fragrances. With the help of architects, archaeologists, botanists and gardening experts the city of San Gimignano and the Opera Group- Civita, have tried to recreate the herb garden that would have once supplied the busy apothecary.

Interestingly, among the records of the expenses incurred at the time of the great plague epidemics (1630-33) accounts can be read of the remedies prepared in the apothecary and applied during the epidemic. It seems that hundreds of pounds of honey were used as a soothing agent and remedy for catarrh. A remarkable quantity of violets must have been used, not only as the ingredient of various medicines, but also to disinfect and perfume the closed areas of the Hospital. It was believed, that the transmission of disease was spread through bad air, and so there was an enormous number of recipes for making scent-balls, to be held to the nose as a "filter" for the air. And to keep the inhaled "poison" from mixing with the saliva, it was recommended to chew bitter roots that disinfected the oral cavity. I would hate to be a mother in the 1600's having to tell your children to "Chew your bitter root. It's good for you!"

You can visit San Gimignano and Apothecary on day 7 of our 10 day Seaside to hilltops Cinque Terre and Tuscany tour . During this day you would say goodbye to the gorgeous Northern Italian Riviera and hello to the equally beautiful Tuscany! You will stop at San Gimignano on the way. With its amazing towers and stunning surrounding countryside, this will surely be one of the highlights of your time with us! After our San Gimignano sojourn we head to the commanding hilltop town of Montepulciano, where we spend the next four days together.