SANTA MARIA NOVELLA

The Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella was established in Florence in 1221 by Dominican monks who cultivated medicinal herbs in their gardens and used them to prepare balms, ointments and pomades for their convent's infirmary.

In 1612 Fra' Angiolo Marchissi opened the Pharmacy to the public and shortly after the Granduke of Tuscany bestowed upon it the tittle of his Royal Highness' Foundry (Fonderia di Sua Altezza Reale ). In the 18th century fame of the products and formulas developed by the apothecary fathers reached as far as Russia, the Indies and China. In 1866, after state confiscation of church assets, management of the enterprise passed for the first time to a layman, Cesare Augosto Stefani, nephew of the last monastic director.

Today, after 400 years of uninterrupted business, tradition is perpetuated and renewed by continuing use of the finest raw materials and by by following the artisanal procedures established by the Dominican monks.