L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano monastery. Yours is an ancient, beautiful tradition. So I wonder, how does one become chemist of the A n t i c a F a r m a c i a Sant'Anna and how is all this knowledge passed from a generation to the next? Well, first of all, you need to be a Discalced Carmelite Brother of the Ligurian pro- vince, of course. Then, the choice is really made by your superior, on the basis of spe- cific characteristics: availa- b i l i t y , f o r m a l e d u c a t i o n , e m p a t h y … I n m y c a s e , I have a degree in chemical engineering and when the f o r m e r c h e m i s t a t t h e Pharmacy was about to reti- re, I was asked to take his place, also in name of my s t u d i e s . I e x p l a i n e d t h a t being a chemical engineer was not the same as being a pharmacist and, at that, my superior simply said: "Well, then, let's get a degree in pharmacy!" But the real treasure is t h e i m m e n s e k n o w l e d g e passed on through the cen- turies, di padre in padre, from father to father, as we like to say here, instead of " f r o m f a t h e r t o s o n , " a s you'd usually say. What I learned in university has been incredibly useful, and it allowed me to make some ameliorations here and there in our recipes, but the real school, what really makes the difference, is what I got from the Brother in charge of the pharmacy before me. What about your reci- pes, what can you tell us about them? All our recipes belong to tradition. They are based on the principles of curative medicine, a concept created b y D r L o u i s L e R o y between the end of the 18th a n d t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e 19th century, with whom the pharmacy had contacts. His idea was a bit of a Columbus Egg, really (it's funny to say that, for a Genoese like me!): t h a t t h e a i m o f m e d i c i n e shouldn't be to cure the symptoms but the cause of a n a i l m e n t . O u r r e c i p e s were based on Dr Le Roy's work and, while some chan- g e s h a v e , o f c o u r s e , b e e n made on the basis of scienti- fic discoveries and research, they still remain largely the same. Indeed, it is fascina- ting to see how our ance- stors had it right in so many cases, when it comes to the healing properties of herbs and natural ingredients. But tradition goes hand in hand with science for us so, when science showed there were mistakes in our recipes, we changed them. And today, science leads our choices when it comes to introdu- cing or not new ingredients to our pharmacopeia. Humankind has been rediscovering the impor- tance of striking a balan- ce between the health of the body, the health of the soul and the health o f t h e m i n d . A n d t h i s brings about questions a b o u t t h e c o n n e c t i o n between science and spi- rituality, something phi- losophers of all genera- t i o n s p a s s i o n a t e l y argued about… The idea Le Roy presen- ted with his curative medici- n e w a s v e r y m u c h a b o u t t h a t , a b o u t t h e u n i o n b e t w e e n m i n d , s o u l a n d body, but don't be fooled, we're talking about a much deeper connection than that endorsed by today's trends on the same topic. In the end, the whole mens sana in corpore sano idea belonged already to our classical ance- s t o r s , i t ' s s o m e t h i n g Humanity has been working w i t h a n d b e l i e v i n g i n f o r e v e r . I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o u n d e r s t a n d h e a l i n g a s a holistic process, where each of the dimensions of our exi- s t e n c e a r e i n v o l v e d . A r e science and spirituality, in the context of healing as we conceive it, part of the same reality? Well, yes. We say it also in our books and on our website: "we prepare the medicaments, God gives us health." O n e l a s t q u e s t i o n . W e ' r e g o i n g t h r o u g h i n c r e d i b l y d i f f i c u l t times, where fear for the health of our body pro- b a b l y m o v e d m a n y t o think about the "health of the soul," too. Have you noticed, in the past months, a return to spi- rituality among people? When I receive people for consultations, our meetings a r e p r i v a t e , o n e t o o n e . O f t e n , t h e y c o m e t o s e e k advice about their physical h e a l t h , b u t t h e y o p e n u p about much more. We go from the physical issue to the root of it. Some, when they are here, sitting down alone with a me, a man of G o d , a l s o o p e n u p a b o u t their own Faith, and this has been true throughout the years I spent here as a pharmacist. About the pan- demic… events of this nature u s u a l l y b r i n g a b o u t t w o things: either people get clo- ser to spirituality and God, or they severe all ties. Many people with terminal illnes- ses or who went through a tragedy react this way. In this, the current pandemic is no different from other trau- matic events in a person's life. Surely, there's been a slight increase in people s e e k i n g c o m f o r t i n F a i t h because of the pandemic, but most do it for fear. And let's say that fear is not the best reason to embrace spi- rituality. Y o u c a n l e a r n m o r e about the Antica Farmacia Sant'Anna and the commu- n i t y o f t h e F r a t i Carmelitani Scalzi in Genoa on their website: https:// www.erboristeriadeifrati.it /. A big thank you goes to Frate Ezio for his precious c o l l a b o r a t i o n a n d g r e a t kindness. LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Continued from page 16 Frate Ezio shows some of the ancient texts of the pharmacy. 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