The Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella claims continuous operation since 1221, when Dominican friars began cultivating medicinal herbs in the convent garden. The pharmacy opened to the public in 1612 and has occupied its current premises — a series of vaulted rooms decorated with 17th-century frescoes, dark wood cabinets, and antique pharmacy jars — for centuries. The atmosphere is extraordinary: part museum, part working shop, part ecclesiastical space.
The products on sale include herbal remedies, face creams, pot-pourri, and perfumes based on centuries-old formulae. Prices are high, but the quality is genuine and the range is unlike anything in a modern pharmacy. The rose water, the pomegranate soap, and the Acqua di Santa Maria Novella (a citrus cologne dating to 1614) are among the most popular items. The shop is worth visiting even if you buy nothing — few commercial premises in Europe are this intact as historical spaces. Enter via the small door on Via della Scala, not the church.