Florence

  • NewsNoël Duan

    Santa Maria Novella: Inside the World’s Longest-Standing Apothecary

    While a saunter through Sephora or Space NK does feel like a spiritual experience for many of us, these beauty shops don’t compare to Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, a 600-year-old Florentine pharmacy founded by talented Dominican monks. The beauty mecca is set up next to the monk’s monastery, and prides itself on using many of the same techniques and recipes developed hundreds of years ago.