L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2015 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 3 Novella was established in the 13th century by D ominican monks, who established their monastery in the nearby church complex of Santa Maria delle Vigne – later renamed Santa Maria Novella. They used to grow medicinal herbs in the adja- cent garden, to be employed in the monastery's apothecary and infirmary. At that time, most of their homemade products were aimed at preventing or treating illnes s es , including malarial fever, labor pains, and infections. But over the centuries, these items w ere trans fo rmed into modern fragrances, cosmetic remedies, soaps, digestives, and even food ingredients. Among them is the rosewater distillate, originally created as an antiseptic and now one of the shop's best selling perfumes. Although the purpose of those mysterious elixirs and potions has changed as a consequence of scientific progress, they are still locally made by following the monks' artisanal process and tra- ditional recipes, featuring aro- matic herbs, spices, and flowers. Besides the pharmacy garden, some of the products are sup- plied by another facility in Florence or imported – this is the cas e w ith the tropical essences. The ancient distillation tech- niques and instruments are on display in a sort of in-house museum, which also showcases handwritten books, pottery stor- age, and original packaging from the 16th and 17th centuries. The renaissance marked the shop's golden age, thanks to the patron- age of the influential Medici House. In honor of Catherine de' Medici, queen of France, who s upported and promoted the pharmacy, the monks created the Queen's Water scent, using alco- hol – just like in modern per- fumery - instead of the usual olive oil or vinegar base. And after four centuries, Catherine's fragrance is still available for purchase by tourists, who though usually unaware of its origins, are captivated not only by the aromas of the historical pharma- cy, but also by its finely decorat- ed interiors, furniture, and fres- coes dating back to the early Renaissance. Tradition and innovation, this is the s ecret formula of the shop's success, as well as its P res ident's motto. Eugenio Despite the risk of losing most of its funding due to high levels of mismanagement and neglect, Italy proudly revealed its restored crown jewel of the a n c i e n t c i t y o f P o m p e i i o n Friday March 20th. Culture Minister Dario Franceschini cut the ribbon to open the restored Villa of Mysteries, which dis- p l a y s s o m e o f t h e b e s t - p r e - served frescoes of the site. F r a n c e s c h i n i s t i l l c l a i m s there are still many problems to r e s o l v e a t P o m p e i i , a l l t h e while Italy was on schedule to meet a European Union dead- line concerning funds for the s i t e ' s r e s t o r a t i o n . T h e E U offered to spend 105 million euros ($111 million dollars) to fund the maintenance. I n 2 0 1 0 , c o l l a p s e o f t h e Villa of Gladiators and other collapses in Pompeii due to heavy rains created such inter- n a t i o n a l a l a r m t h a t t h e E U d e c i d e d t o s t e p i n a n d g i v e immediate funds for restoration projects and an administration that would prohibit mafia infil- tration. Since the agreement, there h a v e b e e n m a n y c o m p l e t e d restoration projects throughout P o m p e i i , 6 5 m i l l i o n e u r o s a w a r d e d i n c o n t r a c t s , 8 5 e x p e r t s h a v e b e e n h i r e d t o work on the site and visitor numbers increased by approxi- m a t e l y 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 m o r e s i n c e Italy reveals Pompeii restorations, amidst EU deadline A lphandery w as born in Florence and used to visit the pharmacy with his great-grand- mother as a child. In 1989, after becoming a mechanical engi- neer, he w as as ked by the Officina's owners – the Stefani family, heirs of Friar Marchissi, who managed it in the 1800s - to repair some old equipment used for production. Since then, he has w orked for the antique es tablis hment, pers onally designing and manufacturing some of the machinery in the lab, supervising compliance with the original recipes, and expand- ing the brand's popularity in the beauty care sector to internation- al markets. Dreaming of the Florentine atmosphere and evocative land- scape, and persuaded to stop by the O fficina P rofumo- Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella on your next trip to Italy? The good news is that you don't have to wait that long to benefit from its herbal products: the pharmacy has opened U.S. branches from New York to Los Angeles and Dallas. They might not have the same allure, but the quality of Made in Italy is guar- anteed. In the past, most of the monks' homemade products were aimed at preventing or treating ilnesses, but over the centuries, these items were transformed into modern fragrances, cosmetics, remedies, soaps, digestives and even food ingredients Continued from page 1 2013. At the same time that the EU has given these funds to I t a l y a n d t h e r e s t o r a t i o n o f Pompeii to use by December 3 1 s t o f 2 0 1 4 , T h e U n i t e d Nations Educational, Scientific a n d C u l t u r a l O r g a n i z a t i o n (UNESCO) has threatened to r e m o v e P o m p e i i f r o m t h e W o r l d H e r i t a g e l i s t . Fortunately, the progress made in the restoration projects have proven to provide great evi- dence of progress, and Pompeii still has its World Heritage List status. According to Franceschini, Italy was in talks with private firms to fund restorations pro- jects for Pompeii, which proves that private donors are increas- ingly playing an important role in caring for Italy's most iconic treasures. This has earned Italy more than 50 UNESCO World Heritage listings—more than any other country in the world. BECKY ZEFERINO The restored Villa of Mysteries dis- plays some of the best-preserved frescoes of the site

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