L'Italo-Americano

LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE F o r c e n t u r i e s , peaceful her- mitages, clois- ters and prior- ies in Italy have been vital storehouses of healing traditions that date back to ancient times. Today monastic communities con- tinue to preserve and devel- op important knowledge on herbal remedies. From remote mountain monasteries to convents and city residencies, medieval monks, friars and nuns were the forerunners of modern p r e v e n t i v e l i f e s t y l e medicine. Their libraries w e r e n o t o n l y f i l l e d w i t h sacred and philosophical texts, but also with scientific works. Monks used classics of m e d i c i n e s u c h a s D e M a t e r i a M e d i c a , o r O n Medicinal Substances, by Dioscorides (40- 90 AD), a Greek botanist and physi- c i a n h i r e d i n R o m e b y Emperor Nero to study the m e d i c i n a l p r o p e r t i e s o f p l a n t s a n d m i n e r a l s . D e Materia Medica was the foremost source of modern botanical terminology and the leading pharmacological text for sixteen centuries. It was an indispensable guide for monks, along with the Canon of Medicine com- piled by the Persian physi- cian-philosopher Ibn Sīna, or Avicenna (980-1037), who completed the medical encyclopedia in 1025. The Canon was seen as the stan- d a r d m e d i c a l t e x t i n t h e Islamic world and across Europe for more than six centuries. Yet the monks didn't rely only on those two classics. They knew works by doctors who were active in ancient R o m e s u c h a s C e l s u s , Galen or Asclepiades. "They studied, but also prepared and experimented with their remedies, shared k n o w l e d g e w i t h p i l g r i m s a n d t r a v e l e r s , a n d w r o t e books as well," Friar Ezio tells me. "That was a labori- ous process." Frate Ezio is a Discalced Carmelite friar who is in charge of Antica Farmacia- Erboristeria S a n t ' A n n a d e i F r a t i Carmelitani di Genova, an amazing herbal pharma- cy that is proven to be the oldest store in the city of Genoa. A t t h e e n t r a n c e o f t h e h e r b a l p h a r m a c y , a Baroque-era wooden cherub welcomes visitors with the m o t t o o f t h e C a r m e l i t e apothecaries: Nos medici- n a m p a r a m u s , D e u s d a t nobis salutem or "We pre- pare remedies, but it is God who gives us health." Herbal medicine is not an a l t e r n a t i v e t o a l l o p a t h i c medicine. It something that y o u m i g h t t r y f o r m i n o r i s s u e s , b u t n o t f o r l i f e - t h r e a t e n i n g i l l n e s s e s o f course. Friar Ezio, who has two m a s t e r ' s d e g r e e s , i n P h a r m a c y a n d C h e m i c a l Engineering, embodies the long-standing tradition of monastic herbal knowl- edge that has been trans- mitted orally across genera- tions by monk apothecaries (Monachi Infirmari) who prepared and administered remedies. Knowledge not only came from books, but also from experience and direct observation. It also resided in authentic human beings and their connection with one another. " F a r m e r w i s d o m helped friars develop their herbal recipes for vibrant health," Friar Ezio says. "In the old times, many of us came from a rural world and culture. But also the mis- sionaries played a role in finding new plants around the world." The discovery of the N e w W o r l d i n 1 4 9 2 b y C r i s t o p h e r C o l u m b u s had a tremendous effect on a g r i c u l t u r a l a n d b o t a n y . New species of plants were found. "The potato, a new wonder plant from South A m e r i c a a n d t h e A n d e s Mountains, arrived to Italy in 1584 through Genoa," he says. "Here, in the gardens of our friary, we were the very first to cultivate pota- toes in Italy." T h e p h a r m a c y o f t h e Discalced Carmelites, with the adjacent Church of Saint Anne and friary, is located in the residential quarter of Castelletto. The friary is kept intact with its beautiful rose garden, majestic trees and cloisters. The view is b r e a t h t a k i n g f r o m S a l i t a Bachernia over the Gulf of Genoa, the port and the old city. S t . A n n e ' s F r i a r y w a s founded in 1584 by Father Nicolò di Gesù Maria Doria, who returned from Spain to his native Republic of Genoa 20 years after two mystics and Catholic Saints, Theresa of Avila and Saint John of t h e C r o s s , r e f o r m e d t h e Carmelite order. F r i a r E z i o s a y s t h a t a n c i e n t m o n a s t i c h e r b a l medicine and research in modern phytotherapy corre- s p o n d . " O u r r e m e d i e s , d e c o c t i o n s , i n f u s i o n s o r macerations still in use have been validated by modern r e s e a r c h , " h e s a y s . " G o d i n f u s e d b e n e f i c i a l c o m - pounds into nature and has given us the intelligence to find them and know how to employ them." Monks master the art of beauty as well. They formu- late herbal cosmetics that are simple yet effective in a beauty routine. Friar Ezio tells me that they produce a vast array of super natural cosmetics made with rose petals. Among many other p r o d u c t s , t h e y m a k e a devil's claw ointment that is a real relief for the entire musculoskeletal system and is also able to treat skin dis- e a s e s s u c h a s p s o r i a s i s , eczema and acne. "All the monasteries had a spezieria or pharmacy," s a y s A n n a M a r i a F o l i , author of La Farmacia di D i o (God's Pharmacy), a b o o k j u s t r e l e a s e d b y Edizioni Terra Santa, a pub- lishing house by the Custody of the Holy Land in Italy. "Devoted to prayer and ser- vice, the monks assisted and healed people with no dis- tinction of class or religion. That was a wonderful model o f a c c e s s i b l e p u b l i c healthcare." " I n t h e E a r l y M i d d l e Ages, the Benedictine order was the very first to open their spezieria to the pub- l i c , " c o n f i r m s F o l i . " T h e Dominicans, Franciscans, Carthusians, Capuchin fri- ars, the Camaldolese her- mits, the Carmelites and the Jesuits followed the example shortly after." Due to their medical and herbal knowl- edge, religious orders also started to run hospitals. THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano Herbalist-Monks, the greening force of the Divine MARIELLA RADAELLI Friar Ezio of the Antica Farmacia Sant'Anna, in Genoa (Copyright: Antica Farmacia-Erboristeria Sant'Anna dei Frati Carmelitani di Genova) Continued to page 14

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