London’s department store Harrods is known for its upmarket and luxury goods, and a new retail space is being filled by “the oldest pharmacy in the world” with its own legacy of elite healthcare. 

Officina Profuma-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella told C+D it officially opened its space in Harrods on October 30 and will be there “permanently”. 

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Its chief executive Ludivine Pont said the new location in Harrods was chosen as it “embodies the harmony between past and future”. 

Pont added it’s the “perfect setting to experience our vision of timeless care” and for people to experience “Florentine craftsmanship”. 

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Having established itself back in 1221, Officina is without a doubt one of the oldest organisations in the world. 

It says it’s “the oldest pharmacy in the world” albeit not in our modern understanding of dispensing drugs. 

Royal connections 

Officina’s first activities were carried out by Dominican friars, a male religious order in the Catholic church. 

In the grounds of a small church just outside of Florence’s city walls, the friars had a botanical garden to craft herbal medicines, ointments, tinctures and balms to use in their infirmary. 

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They created distilled waters, with its rose water referenced as a disinfectant during the times of plagues. 

And in 1334, the Dominican friars healed a rich merchant called Dardano Acciaioli who was from a powerful Florence family.  

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As a way of thanks, the San Niccolò chapel was donated to the friars, and is now part of the of the museum that Officina has in Florence today. 

Over time, Officina evolved from the friars’ medicinal preparations into perfumery and herbal care. 

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In 1542, Officina opened to the public after it had become associated with Europe’s royal elite. 

Nine years earlier, Caterina de’ Medici chose a perfumer raised by the Dominican friars to accompany her in France as she was about to marry into the French royal family. She later became the queen of France. 

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By 1612, the Grand Duke of Tuscany formally recognised the Officina and gave it the title of Fonderia di Sua Altezza Reale (Foundry of His Royal Highness). 

Officina’s oldest fragrance Acqua della Regina was created for de’ Medici to gift to her husband Henry II of Valois of the French royal family. 

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It is on sale in the Eau De Parfum collection along with soaps, Acqua di Rose and Idralia skincare ranges, candles and its renowned terracotta diffuser. 

The opening comes as a local women’s group created its own range of perfumes inspired by a local pharmacist, whose 19th century legacy was preserved by a Devon museum.