The centuries-old Farmacia del Cinghiale sits on the ancient Piazza del Mercato Nuovo in the heart of medieval Florence; the Statua del Porcellino, whose snout should be rubbed to ensure a return to Florence, is one of the square’s most famous symbols (near the Straw Market). The square was a gathering place for the most notable citizens and merchants trading silk and gold. The apothecary was a highly regarded personality in town, explains Filippa Arcuri, the current owner of the pharmacy. “That old inclination to listen and to comfort patients, which made the figure of the pharmacist so popular, is what we pursue here,” Arcuri explained.
The first official records mentioning the pharmacy date back to 1752; however, it is believed to have been there earlier than that. The first documented pharmacist working at the Farmacia del Cinghiale, Florentine doctor Girolamo Nicolò Branchi della Torre, prepared its own remedies in the laboratory of the pharmacy. He was credited with making chemical experiments that marked the passage from the magic of alchemy to the science of chemistry, to the point that the Grand Duke of Tuscany asked him to open the first School of Chemistry in Pisa in 1757.
While the pharmacy sells all traditional medicine, what they really specialize in is alternative medicine: homeopathy, herbal therapy, flowers therapy, aromatherapy.
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