The Ancient Pharmacy Museum is one of the most iconic places in Roccavaldina, among the best examples of the Sicilian Middle Ages on the island, where you can find 238 ceramic vases of inestimable value.
THEAntica Roccavaldina Pharmacy it is among the most particular museums in the world. It's an ancient one Sicilian workshop of the Five hundred, once used for apothecary, as the ancient pharmacies of the time were called.
Examples like these are now more unique than rare, so much so that there are no other places in the world where you can admire one artisan shop of the sixteenth century in such perfect condition, allowing you to be able to experience the typical day of a pharmacist of that era, among its ointments and medicines made on the spot.
During your holiday in Roccavaldina, the Ancient Pharmacy will have to be just one of your stops, as you will necessarily have to visit both the Cathedral of San Nicolò the Castle of Roccavaldina, two of the most representative buildings of local history and culture.
The origins of the Ancient Pharmacy
It is for all intents and purposes also recognized as Medieval workshop, given the historical period in which it was founded, close to the sixteenth century.
The Antica Farmacia di Roccavaldina has been in continuous operation for several centuries, certainly until the last years of thenineteenth century, as evidenced by some documents of the 1882 which attest to the passage of the custody towards the Mother Church of Roccavaldina, which he will never use.
Only in 1968 the Antica Farmacia revises the luca again, as the institutions recognize it as Renaissance Art Heritage. Since that time it has been reopened to the public and exhibited as a real one museum, allowing anyone who wanted to enter and cross the premises of this suggestive place.
What to see at the Ancient Pharmacy Museum
Inside the Ancient Pharmacy Museum of Roccavaldina you will find well 238 ceramic vases, each of which was used to contain the various handcrafted medicines.
It is precisely these vases that are the main pride of the museum, as they represent a collection of inestimable historical and cultural value.
The most valuable piece is certainly a work by Antonio Patanazzi, among the most illustrious potters of all time. Indeed, inside the Ancient Pharmacy of Roccavaldina, there is one of its three vases scattered around the world, a sign that this place was frequented, over time, by merchants from all over the world.
The entire collection of vases is perfectly intact, both in shape and in colours, each one different from the others, thus presenting you with 238 all different works.
The furnishings have remained almost identical to those of the sixteenth century, recreating the same atmosphere that one could breathe at that time.
