Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella

Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella traces its origins to 1221, when Dominican friars settled near Florence at Santa Maria Inter Vineas and began preparing herbal remedies from their monastery gardens. Over time, their apothecary work evolved into a structured pharmacy, with public access documented by 1542 and formal recognition under the name Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica in 1612 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany. This documented continuity on the same site has led many historians to regard it as the oldest operating pharmacy in the world.

The brand’s perfumery heritage is closely linked to the Medici court. In 1533, Florentine perfumer Renato Bianco, trained by the friars, created a fragrance for Catherine de Medici as a wedding gift for her marriage to Henry II of France. That composition, now sold as Acqua della Regina, used alcohol as a base rather than oil or vinegar and is often cited as an early example of modern perfumery. Today, Santa Maria Novella continues to produce fragrances, soaps, and traditional preparations that reference its archival formulas while expanding into contemporary eau de parfum collections such as L'Iris, launched under the creative direction of the Perris family.

In 2020, Italian investment holding Italmobiliare acquired a majority stake in the company, marking a new phase of international expansion while keeping production anchored in Florence. The historic flagship store still occupies part of the original convent complex, functioning both as a retail space and as a living museum of apothecary culture, where centuries-old frescoes sit alongside shelves of colognes, pot pourri, and herbal preparations.