We were lucky enough to be in Florence on one of the few occasions that the whole complex of Santa Maria Novella was open to the public. The complex consists of the church, the monastary and the ancient pharmacy. The literature said that the monastery is the first to create the concept of dormitories, dining areas, kitchens, infirmaries, pharmacies, and cemeteries in one space. Urban development. Unfortunately, we were restricted in the areas where I could take pictures because half of the complex is now a military training center. However, you will see that I more than made up for the restrictions by the number of pictures that I did take.
The Florentine Dominican monks built Santa Maria Novella in 1221. According to one guide book these monks were “a fanatically inquisitorial order fond of leading street brawls against suspected heretics and encouraging the faithful to strip and whip themselves before the altar.” The piazza outside of the church, one of Florence’s biggest, was enlarged in 1244 to accommodate the crowds that came to hear St. Peter the Martyr, “one of the viler members of the saintly cannon. Peter made his name persecuting so-called heretics in northern Italy and ended up with one of their axes in his head.” The interior of the church and monastery that these guys created contradict their seemingly violent tendencies.
The Spanish Chapel was built in 1350 and frescoed by Andrea di Bonaiuto. In the scenes of Florentine life Bonaiuto depicts his losing design for the dome of Florence’s cathedral. (See above left.) He may have lost the design concept to Brunelleschi who got to build the famous dome but Bonaiuto showed us what he thought Florence should look like.
The courtyard walkway of the monastery (the cloister) is covered in frescoes by Paolo Uccello from around 1335. (See above and below) It was very interesting to see these 14th century frescoes in contrast to Ravena's 5th century mosaics.
In 1866 the whole structure became property of the state after the unification of Italy and the suppression of religious orders. The Dominicans regained custody of the church in 1868 but the cloister remained in the hands of the government closed to the public. It was really hard to comprehend that this beautiful space is used for military training. However, those bad boy monks would surely approve, given their rough and tumble beginnings.
All the beauty aside, my favorite part of the Santa Maria Novella complex is the pharmacy where the monks prepared traditional recipes with special herbs that they grew in their garden, mostly for the Medici family. The physical space of this now commercial enterprise is beyond belief. Within the pharmacy is the Sacristy of San Niccolo, built in the 14th century and frescoed by Mariotto di Nardo. (see below)
In the 1600’s the monks got marketing. They opened the pharmacy to the public in 1612. In the 18th century the monk’s unguents and creams were spread over the known world (according to them). In 1866 the pharmacy was state owned along with the church but it was later sold to Cesare Augusto Stafani, the nephew of the last monastic director. Now, his family really got marketing. They now have shops in Rome, Paris, New York, Los Angelis and Tokyo but there is nowhere like the mother ship. Accessed by the public on via della Scala 16, the entrance to the farmacia is very understated. You cold miss it because the awning is obscured by the awning of a pizzeria next door. (See below)
There is a simple threshold that leads into what looks like a small church. It is a place of worship for me. I just love their stuff!! The perfume of Catherine di Medici; the almond soaps; the potpourri. I am a total sucker for their marketing.
During this celebration you could get into the farmacia from the monastery and they took total advantage of this access to host a special exhibit in their museum on the oldest perfumes known to man. Their literature says that in 1850BC (that’s roughly 4,000 years ago, give or take) there was an earthquake that destroyed a perfume factory in Cyprus. Archeologists uncovered the abandoned factory complete with a perfume still (see below) and tablets listing the perfume recipes. Do you see where I am going here?
Using the most sophisticated equipment (or Arnie might say marketing [actually he used another word]) the farmacia was able to reproduce a 4,000 year old fragrance dedicated to Aphrodite. “The fragrances and aromas of this marvelous land have guided us with extraordinary simplicity to the choice of the essences, which diluted in olive oil, have given life to a new, yet at the same time, ancient creation. The scent’s first impression is of Bergamot and pine, followed by rosemary, lavender and sweet wormwood. The lasting impression is of cedar wood, oak musk, galbanum and thuja. Limited Edition of 4000 bottles.” This last quote was translated into English and Japanese. How could I possibly resist? I put my name on a waiting list and, sure enough, while we were in Ravenna, I got the call; my 4,000 year old perfume had arrived. :)
Here is the link to the rest of the pictures;
http://www.flickr.com/gp/25519767@N06/1D8J21
Here is a link to a video of the farmacia: http://video.concierge.com/?fr_story=70eabc474834dcacee94fe96931104601ff90c23&rf=bm
Here’s an article in the Smithsonian Magazine on the farmacia:http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/heaven-scent.html?c=y&page=2
