An Apothecary Founded by Dominican Friars Offers Gilded Colognes in Florence

The Officina Santa Maria Novella story officially begins in 1612. But like many Old World stories, especially those tied to the church, its origins predate that. The history of the apothecary dates back to the 13th century when it was a monastic laboratory—Dominican friars began concocting herbal remedies in the convent’s infirmary in the time of Giotto and Dante.