What is an Apothecary?
I’ve been doing some research about the history of the apothecary. What I’m discovering is kind of blowing my mind. Before I dive into sharing some of the cool facts I learned and how they’re oddly aligning with my life, let’s get on the same page.
Is an apothecary a person?
Or a place?
It’s BOTH! The word itself has ancient Greek roots and can refer to a person or a place. Apothēkē means “storehouse”. But the profession of the apothecary goes as far back as ancient Babylon in 2600 B.C.
Oftentimes, an apothecary was a healer with wisdom about plants, foraging, and food as medicine for various ailments. They would supply herbs, spices, wine, tinctures, compounds, tisanes, teas and other natural holistic ingredients.
Where was the very first apothecary shop located?
The first apothecary shop was documented in 1221 in FLORENCE ITALY! More specifically, Santa Maria Novella Farmacia!!!
Florence is a beautifully familiar city to me. I studied drawing and art history there in 2003. I’ve since returned several times. And yet I’m still learning incredible things about all of its cool history.
This photo below was taken on September 17th, 2019 from my apartment balcony just steps away from Santa Maria Novella in Firenze. Of course there was basil, elderberry and other herb varieties growing on the patio.
Finding out that Florence is where the concept of the apothecary began just blows my mind. At the time I last visited and stayed so close to this origin, I had no idea I would be starting my own apothecary business just a year later.
Santa Maria Novella apartamento sul balcone, 2019
How it all started
Dominican Monks tended the luscious gardens at Santa Maria Novella during the thirteenth century. Apparently they “experimented” with the herbs and flowers in the garden. They practiced alchemy, concocting teas, balms, tinctures, and even made iconic and highly sought-after liqueurs, incense and perfume that still exists today.
(Sound like Lady J products?!)
These monks would make rose water and supply herbs to doctors to prevent the Black Death during the fourteenth century. Doctors during the plague wore masks just like the one I’m wearing in my home page image (above). They’d stuff herbs from the apothecary into the beak of the mask to filter the air they were breathing in to prevent catching the airborne disease. The mask in the photo was handmade by La Maschera Del Galeone, Venezia.
In one of my recent Italian classes, we discussed “rimedi della nonna”. They’re natural remedies like the use of lemons, honey, various herbs, being mindful of the temperature of the beverages and foods you consume, etc. That might seem really old school to some, but this holistic methodology is exactly how I was raised.
Vacanza a Firenze, Italia 2016
It’s all making sense
From a very young age, I learned so much from my nonni and nonno about the process of planting seeds and nurturing what we would eventually enjoy eating. The patience, the hard work, the hope, and all the love that went into every step of that process is how I learned to appreciate the relationship between us and the earth over time.
I apply this philosophy towards everything I make with my hands. The outcome and quality of the results are not always explained with science, but when love is a crucial ingredient, you just feel it.
Catedrale Bells at Santa Maria Novella
Waking up to the church bells every morning in Florence sounds like it would be annoying, but they’re actually so beautiful to hear. I haven’t gotten sick of them yet. I’ve been so lucky to have lived one street away from Santa Maria dei Fiori, one street away from Santa Maria Novella, and those bells and the tuscan sun is like the best combo to wake up to. They inspire me so much I recorded them and put the audio in one of the songs I had made shortly after returning from a recent visit. Check it out. (It’s best in headphones or really good speakers.)
Concluding Thoughts
Plants and their healing properties are amazing.
Healing does absolutely begin in the gut.
You are what you consume.
I am an apothecary (person) not an apothecary (place).
And I can’t wait to go back to Florence so I can wake up to church bells and visit the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella