Parma, Antica Spezieria di San Giovanni reopens to the public, restored and fully refurbished

As of October 20, 2024, the Ancient Spice Shop of St. John in Parma reopens to the public after a long restoration, entirely refurbished with the opening of four new exhibition spaces, in addition to the four rooms that can already be visited. Since June 2024, the Spezieria has been part of the circuit of the Monumental Complex of the Pilotta, and thanks to restoration work it has been restored to its original configuration, with the reopening of the main door connecting it to the Monastery of San Giovanni. The work involved both the structure and the collection, which includes artistic artifacts and laboratory instruments. Work was carried out on the walls, floors, fixtures, glass and marble, with chemical and physical analysis of all elements and the securing of the entire building to withstand seismic events. Accessibility was improved by breaking down physical and cognitive barriers to facilitate entry and movement within the 400 square meters of exhibition space. In addition, tactile aids for the visually impaired and olfactory corners were introduced for a multisensory experience.

Exhibits, including wooden artifacts, paintings, mortars, stills, ceramics and books, have also been restored and, where possible, digitized. The exhibition itinerary, which already included the Hall of Fire, the Hall of Mortars, the Hall of the Sirens, and the Hall of the Well or of the Alembics, is now enriched with three new rooms: the Hall of History, the Hall of the Rule, and the Hall of Poisons or of the Book, as well as the Entrance or Monk’s Corridor, where the ancient opening to the Cloister has been restored. This symbolic and practical connection with the Monastery evokes the millennial origins of the pharmacy, whose history dates back to before the year 1000 and has gone through many transformations over the centuries.

The latest restoration work has unearthed a painted portal with a richly decorated stone tympanum and piers, corresponding to the ancient direct access the Monastery had to the Cloister of St. John, which was plugged in 1897 with the final closure of the business and the initiation of the various transitions of competence in order to create a new museum reality. Embellishing the portal is the cymatium bearing the date 1748 (MDCCXLVIII), the year the extensive decoration was made, and the inscription Alla morte dolorosa, dolce e amaro è il conforto, as well as a cartouche (a painted or sculpted depiction of a paper scroll, often containing an inscription, but sometimes intended for purely ornamental purposes) with a female figure holding a staff of Asclepius in her right hand and a rooster in her left. The woman represents the Allegory of Health, whose attributes are the staff of Asclepius (Aesculapius in Roman mythology), the patron deity of medicine, and the rooster, which was offered in sacrifice as the traditional thanksgiving of those cured of an illness.

Also in the Entrance or Monk’s Corridor, recent restorations have revealed the existence of another passageway between the Monastery and the Apothecary, closed in the eighteenth century and located in the Hall of the Doctors of Antiquity or of the Mortars, probably an earlier entrance than the one used in the Hall of the Doctors of Parmesan or of the Harpies. Finally, in front of it was originally another door that provided access to the Monastery’s garden of simples, later replaced by the present large window visible upon entering the room.

The restoration and installation of the new museum spaces were made possible thanks to the support of the Cariparma Foundation and the “Parma, io ci sto!” Association.

History

Located in the heart of Parma, inside the Benedictine abbey of San Giovanni Evangelista, the Antica Spezieria has ancient origins dating back to the foundation of the monastery in 981. Although the earliest documentary evidence of the Spezieria’s existence dates back to 1201, when it was opened to the public, it was already part of the monastic complex from the very beginning. In addition to serving the Hospital of St. John, attached to the Monastery, the Spezieria was the first to provide its services to other city hospitals, such as the Rodolfo Tanzi and, later, the San Giovanni Gerosolimitano. This expansion of its clientele allowed it to grow significantly and, in the fifteenth century, led to continuous expansions of the facility, including a large laboratory along what is now Borgo Pipa. Between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Spezieria achieved the architectural configuration it would maintain for centuries. Being a monastic pharmacy, public access was limited, but in the eighteenth century the Spezieria’s economic influence in the city forced the Benedictines to hand over management to private laymen. These changes of ownership continued throughout the century and beyond, until the business was finally closed in 1897, when the Spezieria was turned into a museum. In 1968, the transfer of management to the Soprintendenza ai Beni Artistici e Storici integrated the Spezieria into the city’s museum system. Finally, in June 2024, it became part of the Pilotta Monumental Complex circuit, further consolidating its role of cultural and historical significance in Parma.

The exhibition route

The exhibition route of the Ancient Spice Shop of St. John runs through eight rooms, each with a specific theme that tells the story and functions of this place, preserving tools and objects from the pharmaceutical tradition. The Well Room was part of the ancient apothecary’s laboratory, which also developed into other rooms on the north side now used for different purposes. A 16th-century Veronese marble washstand, well and original walls are found here. On display are stills, retorts and bottles used for the preparation of medicines. The Fire Room features a large fireplace, now walled up, and has wooden furniture and an ornate ceiling that conceal the trapezoidal shape due to its location adjacent to the surrounding wall. Three round arches, devoid of columns, separate the entrance hall from the operating space. The Hall of the Doctors of Antiquity or Mortars houses the mortars, essential for the apothecary to grind herbs, minerals and dried organic substances with a special pestle. The mortars are made of marble or bronze and have cup or vase shapes. The twelve painted lunettes dating from the first half of the 16th century depict the ancient masters of medicine. We continue to the Hall of the Parmesan Doctors or Harpies, formerly known as the Hall of the Sirens because of the figures carved on the shelf pilasters, which actually on closer inspection can be approximated to the image of the harpy, given the wings and paws equipped with claws. This is the richest room of ornaments and carvings, which also preserves, within the lunettes, twelve portraits of the masters of medicine who lived between the 16th and 17th centuries.

The History Room traces the history of the Spezieria of St. John the Evangelist from the Middle Ages to the present day. There is a map showing a bird’s eye view of the spaces of the Spezieria and the Monastery, and a collection of pharmaceutical glassware. Also on display are a bust of pharmacist Ferdinando Gardoni and a portrait of his son Leonida. The Rule Room explores the link between the Benedictine rule Ora et labora and the practice of monastic spicery, illustrating the principles of monastic life. A monastic tunic is on display here.

The Entrance or Monk’s Corridor tells the story of the restoration of the apothecary’s rooms and pictorial decorations. The opening to the Cloister of St. John symbolizes the connection with the Monastery. It also explores the link between the body, health and medicine through the work of the apothecary, exemplified by the inscriptions scattered throughout the rooms and the epigraphs of the ceramic trove. Closing the room is a section devoted to temporary exhibitions and the legacy of the Apothecary’s Office in contemporary Parma pharmaceuticals. Finally, the Room of Poisons or of the Book, a small room where the apothecary kept under lock and key those toxic products that in the wrong hands could be a danger, displays volumes of pharmacy, medicine and botany from the 16th-20th centuries, with a vitrine housing an ancient book and pharmaceutical cookbooks. A monitor allows visitors to digitally explore the apothecary’s historical documents.

The lunettes of the masters of medicine

In the Hall of the Mortars, twelve lunettes house portraits of ancient masters of medicine, belonging to Greco-Roman myth and Arab or Persian science, brought together in a kind of gallery that induces reflection on the distant origins of Medici practice. Attributed to the Parma-born Leonardo da Monchio and datable around the first half of the 16th century, the work stands as a tribute to the progress of science and the exclusion of geographical or religious boundaries in this field. Starting from the west wall and from left to right, we find Mercury, Apollo, Galen, two unnamed figures, Averroes, Hippocrates, Aesculapius, Aetius, Dioscorides, Avicenna and Mesue.

In the Hall of the Harpies are twelve other lunettes that accommodate the masters of medicine who lived between the 16th and 17th centuries and who contributed significantly to the development of medical science in the Duchy of Parma. Starting on the left side of the altar are Scipione Cassola, Filippo Silva, Antonio Massera, Pietro Linati, Paolo Accorsio, Gerolamo Iuncta, Giovanni Cascia, Alberto Urbano Sanseverino, Pompilio Tagliaferri, Andrea Cerati, Flavio Sacco, and Tiberio Delfini. The illustration of such luminaries, in an environment that pursued the same goals as the characters depicted, accompanied with history the work of the apothecary monks, who daily placed themselves at the service of God but also of science.

Statements

“It is an extraordinarily evocative journey through the knowledge of the past, within a centuries-old Benedictine complex that cradled and cultivated knowledge, culture and art, always at the highest level,” said Stefano L’Occaso, director of the Pilotta Monumental Complex. “The sequence of rooms with ancient shelving, albarellos, vases and mortars, has been restored to public enjoyment thanks to the efforts of the institutes and managers who preceded me, among them Giorgio Cozzolino and Maria Luisa Pacelli of the Regional Museums Directorate, from whom we ’inherited’ the Spezieria. Valuable was the role of the sponsors - in particular the Fondazione Cariparma in the person of President Franco Magnani and the Association ”Parma, io ci sto!“ in the person of President Alessandro Chiesi and with the great support of Davide Bollati - led by the commitment and enthusiasm of Olimpia Barbieri Gentili Estense Calcagnini. To all those who worked for this wonderful result - the designers, the firms, the workers - goes a thank you that I express on behalf of the community.”

“Returning to citizenship such a precious and well-preserved space within the walls of the Monastery of San Giovanni is for the Regional Directorate of Museums a source of great pride,” said Maria Luisa Pacelli, director of the National Museums of Bologna/Regional Directorate of Museums Emilia Romagna and Director of the National Picture Gallery of Bologna. “In fact, after years of intermittent openings, the full architectural and artistic recovery of a veritable jewel comes to fruition, achieved thanks to the contribution of many colleagues, including those who preceded me in the direction of the institute, whom I want to thank most sincerely. The support of many friends, moreover, first and foremost the Cariparma Foundation and the ”Parma io ci sto!“ Association, made it possible to develop a project that, with great care and attention to detail, transformed the Antica Spezieria a safe and welcoming place, open and accessible to all.”

Photo by Giovanni Hänninen.

Parma, Antica Spezieria di San Giovanni reopens to the public, restored and fully refurbished

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