“You cannot miss the Farmacia!” urged my friend Rachel a couple of years ago in Florence. We finished our caffès and then she expertly guided me through Florence’s cobbled streets to Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.
The “pharmacy”, which today is really more of a fragrance museum, still sells formulations which were popular among privileged Renaissance women, including (Mona) Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo. Her scent of choice was acqua di rose, rose water.
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Next week (June 15) marks Mona Lisa’s 537th birthday. Join me back here for a couple of Lisa-themed posts in her honor. I invite you to sign my guestbook, and to join me on Facebook, where I share often about Italy! This post first appeared on Prayers and Piazzas.
Prayers & Piazzas 
Funny I should stumble upon your post after just publishing my own post saying not the kindest thing about my experience seeing the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. I look forward to your Mona-Lisa-themed posts, so I’ll have a chance to redeem myself and learn something new 🙂
That is interesting timing! I haven’t seen your post yet, but I do remember thinking how small the painting was when I finally saw it in person. I hope you enjoy next week’s posts!
was a great time – can’t wait to see you again here!
Me too!!