Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella

The Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella is a perfumery and herbalist shop in Florence, in Tuscany in central Italy. It is not a pharmacy and does not sell medicines, but is sometimes described as "the oldest pharmacy in the world".^[1]

Its origins can be traced back to the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria Novella and the mediaeval medicines created by the monks. A retail operation was established in Via Reginaldo Giuliani in 1612 by Fra Angiolo Marchissi, becoming famous over the coming centuries for the quality and salubrious benefits of its products, ranging from perfumes, pot pourri and toiletries, to liqueurs, medicinal balms, and foods. It remained in the ownership of the Church of Santa Maria Novella until 1866, when the property was confiscated by the Kingdom of Italy and sold to a private owner. Since the 1990s Santa Maria Novella's retail operations have expanded rapidly to include locations in every major Italian city, and 75 shops throughout the world, in countries including the United States, Panama, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and South Africa.^{[citation needed]}