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Santa Maria Novella Garden
Plants, flowers and fruits of the Florentine tradition
Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella 1612 Firenze
English
Santa Maria Novella Garden 4 ...............................The Flower Garden 5 ..............................................Essences and extracts 5 ..........................................................
Acer Palmatum 7 .................................................................................................................Balsamita Major (Balsamite) 9 ............................................................................................Calycanthus Praecox (Calicante) 11 .....................................................................................Spartium Junceum (Ginestra) 13 ........................................................................................Hypericum Perforatum 15 ...................................................................................................Ireos Florentina (Iris) 17 .....................................................................................................Jasminoides Officinalis (Gelsomino) 19 .............................................................................Lantana Camara 21 ..............................................................................................................Lantana Sellowiana 23 ........................................................................................................Lavandula Officinalis (Lavanda) 25 ....................................................................................Leucanthemum Vulgare (Margherita) 27 ...........................................................................Lonicera Caprifolium (Caprifoglio) 29 ................................................................................Nulumbo Nucifera (Loto) 31 ...............................................................................................Nymphea (Ninfa) 33 ............................................................................................................Passiflora Caerulea 36 .........................................................................................................Il Prunus Serrulata (Sakura) 38 ..........................................................................................Rosa Clair Matin (Rosa) 40 .................................................................................................Rosa Novella 43 ...................................................................................................................Rosa Pierre De Ronsarde 45 ................................................................................................Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosmarino) 48 .............................................................................Salvia Officinalis (Salvia) 50 ...............................................................................................Salvia Splendens 52 .............................................................................................................Thymus Serpyllum (Timo) 54 .............................................................................................Verbena Officinalis (Verbena) 56 ........................................................................................
The Vegetable Garden of Santa Maria Novella 57 .Fruits and vegetables 57 .........................................................
Allium Cepa (Cipolla) 59 .....................................................................................................Allium Sativum (Aglio) 61 ...................................................................................................Citrus Limonum (Limone) 63 .............................................................................................Cynara Scolymus (Carciofo) 65 ...........................................................................................
Fragaria 67 ...........................................................................................................................Jasminoides Officinalis (Gelsomino) 69 .............................................................................Malus et Pyrus 71 .................................................................................................................Melissa Officinalis 74 ...........................................................................................................Mentha Piperita (Menta) 76 ................................................................................................Punica Granatum (Melograno) 78 ......................................................................................Syringa Vulgaris (Serenella) 80 ..........................................................................................Solanum Lycopersicum (Pomodoro) 82 .............................................................................Solanum Tuberosum (Patate) 84 ........................................................................................Olivum 86 ............................................................................................................................Vicia Faba (Fave) 88............................................................................................................
Santa Maria Novella Garden
In the hills of the Castello district of Florence, opposite the Medici Villa della Petraia at Via della Petraia 38/F, the gates of the new garden of Santa Maria Novella open onto a paradise of 15,000 sqm, proposing an ancient tradition inherited from the Dominican monks: the hortus conclusus, which the friars cultivated around their monastery back in the 13th century.
In the Garden of Santa Maria Novella we have planted a small, company vegetable garden that evolves and develops according to nature, enabling us to cultivate and pick the fruits of every season.
The Flower Garden Essences and extracts
Acer Palmatum
Acer Palmatum
The red maple is a medium-sized tree native to North America that adapts very well and can even be planted in areas where other species have encountered problems, such as insufficiently fertile or rocky soils, or even near lakes where the soil is very humid. Its great adaptability has led to its cultivation in most of Europe. Its leaves are trilobed and dark green in colour, which become a very decorative cherry red in fall.
Balsamita Major
Balsamita Major (Balsamite)
This is a herbaceous plant (Balsamita major Desf. = B. vulgaris = Chrysanthemum Balsamita L. = Tanacetum Balsamita L. = Pyrethrum Balsamita), of the family Compositae, genus Balsamita, also commonly known in Italian as erba amara balsamica (Pignatti) and by other dialectal names including erba buona, erba di San Pietro, erba Maria, erba della Madonna, foglia da Bibbia, erba caciola, menta greca. In English the plant is known as costmary, alecost, balsam herb, bible leaf, and mint geranium. It was once classed under the genus Chrysanthemum, along with other herbs collectively referred to as “erba amara” in Italian. Successively they were reclassified in two different genera: Tanacetum (v) and Balsamita, though preserving the name of “bitter herb”. Only one species has been recorded in the genus Balsamita, the Balsamita major, the very one we are dealing with in this entry.
Its active ingredients, mainly contained in the leaves and flowering tops are: a volatile essential oil, bitter principals, tannic substances and sesquiterpene lactones. As a surrogate of tea, in an infusion ratio of fifteen to one thousand, it is reported to have stimulating and emmenagogic properties.
The essence and distilled water of the plant, obtained by distillation, are used in the making of Pasticche di Santa Maria Novella, Acqua di Santa Maria Novella, and Acqua di Erba di Santa Maria. Balsamite is used as flavouring in Dentifricio di Fior d' Iris .
Calycanthus Praecox
Calycanthus Praecox (Calicante)
The calycanthus is a medium-sized shrub with deciduous leaves that is native to China. Its common name refers to plants that belong to the genus Calycanthaceae, but the species is called Chimonanthus. Only a few species of chimonanthus exist in nature and, in particular, only one, the Chimonanthus praecox, is cultivated in Italy. It produces a disorderly shrub with many erect, ramified stalks, which give rise to a dense and intricate vegetation. The leaves appear in spring, after or during flowering, and are long, very similar to those of the peach or the willow, lanceolate and medium green in colour. The peculiar feature of the calycanthus is, without a doubt, its flowers, which begin to blossom in mid winter, February or March, independently of the weather conditions and long before the plant has begun to produce leaves. The result is a dry-looking shrub completely covered with highly scented little flowers. The flowers blossom from old wood, without a petiole, and have long, waxy petals either white or yellow in colour. Its intense and seductive notes make it the top fragrance in our Italian gardens.
Used for Acqua di Colonia Calicantus by Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.
Spartium junceum
Spartium Junceum (Ginestra)
Given that its roots develop in depth, this plant can be utilised to consolidate terrains.
The absolute extract of its flowers is a rich and opulent fragrance with a special buttery note.
The concrete of Spanish broom is a waxy, intensely scented substance, brownish yellow in colour that recalls honey and bee’s wax, both in colour and fragrance. The concrete is extracted by means of solvents (hexane), and the final product is a mixture of essential oils, fatty acids and waxes. The vacuum distillation of this substance yields broom absolute. The absolute extract of its flowers is a fragrance with a special buttery note.
Used for Acqua di Colonia Ginestra by Officina Profumo –Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.
Hypericum Calycinium
Hypericum Perforatum
Superstition often attributes extraordinary curative or magical powers to plants in the public imagination. Hypericum is one of these. Its name historically derives from the Greek hyper-eikon, that is to say a plant that grows on old statues. For the Greek physicians Hippocrates and Dioscorides, its name meant “beyond the underworld”. Best known as an herb that wards off devils for its presumed capability to drive out evil spirits and ghosts, it is also known as St. John’s Wort. It is said that on the eve of St. John’s feast day, it is advisable to carry hypericum, along with rue, artemisia and garlic to protect against witches’ spells. It was tradition in many European countries to dance around a fire wearing a crown of hypericum sprays on St. John’s Eve. When the fires went out, the sprays were then tossed onto the roofs of houses to protect them from lightening.
Consequently, it is used for burns, sunburns, skin spots, psoriasis, dry skin of the face and body, ageing skin, bedsores, stretch marks, scars, and marks caused by acne.
Ireos Florentina
Ireos Florentina (Iris)
It is by now no secret that the precious scent of the iris does not come from the petals of its flowers, but instead from its rootstalk.
Three years after planting the rootlets (portions of rhizome with roots and leaves), the first phase of harvesting consists in pulling the iris out of the ground, which is performed using a small hand-held hoe. After removing the soil, the plant is detached from the rhizome, leaving only a portion for replanting. The roots of the rhizome are then cleaned. The pieces of rhizome cut into slices are then laid out to dry on long, raised rows of reed mats called “stretchers”.
Iris rhizomes contain molecules called “irones” that possess an intense and penetrating odour, which explains the use of the iris in perfumery since the 18th century and the great renown of iris powder. The drying period lasts from two to three years approximately, which permits the formation of the “irones” and maximises the olfactory sensations. Drying is followed by distillation, which produces a substance referred to as “butter”, because its look and consistence is similar to butter at room temperature.
One thousand kilograms of fresh rhizome produce 250 kg of dry product, which after grinding and distillation becomes 2 litres of essential oil. This explains why the iris is considered to be one of the noblest substances of the olfactory palette and the cost of “butter” reaches extremely high levels.
Apart from the use of the essence proper, the finely pulverised rhizome is still used today to scent talcum and facial powders, as well as an ingredient of toothpastes and sachets for linen. In the countryside, it was customary to give teething children a bit of rhizome to chew, and it was also used to lend a particular aroma to wine.
It is found as a concrete in Acqua di Colonia Iris and Talborina profumata all’Iris. Carefully sifted rhizome powder is utilised in Polvere per Bianchire le Carni, in Polvere d’Ireos, an excellent scrub for the body, and in Dentifricio all’Iris.
Jasminoides Officinalis
Jasminoides Officinalis (Gelsomino)
The word “jasmine” comes from the Persian, “yasamin”. Very ancient traces of jasmine have been found in Egypt, and tiny fragments have been found on a pharaoh’s mummy. In the Orient it has been considered the symbol of love and female temptation for centuries. In India, Kâma the god of love, used jasmine flowers to capture his victims. It is told that Cleopatra would meet Marc Antony on a boat with jasmine scented sails. Native to Malabar in the East Indies, Spanish sailors imported it to Europe around 1500, but traces of it could be found in Italy before that time. It is told that Cosimo de’ Medici, determined to be the only possessor, severely prohibited his gardeners from gifting even a single plant, ordering them instead to grow as many specimens as possible. Still today in Tuscany, the jasmine is added to the bride’s bouquet so that it will bring good luck to her husband. Sambac jasmine or Indian jasmine is still widely used in perfumery to this day and in the recent making of products for women. This variety is characterised by a penetrating, intense and sensual odour.
Lantana Camara
Lantana Camara
Lantana camara, native to the tropical areas of America, has elliptical-shaped, dark green leaves. From May to August it produces tubular-shaped flowers grouped into globular corymbs. The colour of the flowers tends to darken as the days pass, shifting from white to yellow to brick red. Its fruit is a dark toxic berry. It can reach heights of from 40 cm to 2 m.
Another variety is Lantana Sellowiana.
Lantana Sellowiana
Lantana Sellowiana
Lantana camara, native to the tropical areas of America, has elliptical-shaped, dark green leaves. From May to August it produces tubular-shaped flowers grouped into globular corymbs. The colour of the flowers tends to darken as the days pass, shifting from white to yellow to brick red. Its fruit is a dark toxic berry. It can reach heights of from 40 cm to 2 m.
Another variety is Lantana Camara.
Lavandula Officinalis
Lavandula Officinalis (Lavanda)
Lavandula officinalis, or lavender as it is commonly called, is an evergreen plant from the Labiatae family. It grows all over Italy, in both plains and mountainous areas up to an altitude of about 1000 metres.
A spontaneous plant, it possesses properties that make it widely cultivated to extract its essences, which are used in the cosmetics industry, particularly for perfumes.
Lavender flowers can be utilised in a wide variety of ways, both fresh and dried to prepare tisanes or as a room fragrance. The flowers are picked in summer right after they open; they are dried in small bunches left to hang in a well-aired room without humidity.
When speaking about the properties and benefits of lavender, we are mainly referring to its essential oil, which has many therapeutic uses.
The essential oil of lavender has properties that can bring beneficial effects in the case of problems concerning the respiratory tract. In fact, the vapour given off by the essential oil of lavender has bactericide properties that make it useful in cases of asthma, bronchitis, sore throat and phlegm.
Lavender has properties useful against anxiety, nervousness, sleep disturbances and even in senile dementia.
It has also been shown that a few drops of essential oil in a hot bath can have a positive influence on psychophysical wellbeing.
Lavender is also beneficial against problems of digestion. Not only does it help digestion, it also restores gut microbiota to an excellent level.
Leucanthemum Vulgare
Leucanthemum Vulgare (Margherita)
The Ox-eye Daisy, whose scientific name is Leucanthemum vulgare, is a herbaceous plant of the family Asteraceae that is very common in the fields of the entire Italian peninsula. Its genus name (Leucanthemum) derives from two Greek words (leukos which means white, and anthemon which means flower) and, as the very words tell us, it refers to the colour of its flowers. The earliest news we possess about the ox-eye daisy dates back to ancient Egypt (about 4000 years ago) where we can find it used in decorations on ceramic vases. Other tokens of the daisy can be found in antiquity on Crete and in the Middle East. Several written records inform that the ancient Romans used the daisy for medicinal purposes. In fact, the physicians that accompanied the troops on military campaigns carried sacks full of ox-eye daisies. The flowers were pressed and the juice obtained was used to soak bandages that were then applied to wounds.
Lonicera Caprifolium
Lonicera Caprifolium (Caprifoglio)
The Honeysuckle is native to America and the Far East. The genus Lonicera consists of 200 species from Asia, South America and Europe, about ten of which are spontaneous flora in Italy. Linnaeus coined the term of the genus Lonicera in 1753, adapting the surname “Lonitzer” to Latin, in memory of botanist and district doctor of Frankfurt, Adam Lonitzer (1528-1586), rendered in Italian as Adamo Lonicer.
According to an old tradition, honeysuckle flowers placed in the bedroom of a girl bring love dreams, and in a house with young people in marrying age, they favour a wedding.
We recommend ’Acqua di Colonia Caprifoglio by Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.
Nelumbo Nucifera
Nulumbo Nucifera (Loto)
The lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is one of the most cultivated and consumed plants of all Asia.
All parts of this flower are edible and have been recognised for more than a millennium for their vitamin properties, which recent scientific studies have confirmed. That is why nothing of this plant is wasted. Even the seeds are dried and eaten as snacks or prepared like popcorn and used in confectionary. The stamens of the flower are used to make a fragrant tea, while the leaves can be used to wrap foods.
Nymphaea
Nymphea (Ninfa)
Water lilies belong to the family Nymphaeaceae. From 1880 until today, the contribution of numerous hybridists have resulted in 400 different water lilies between species, forms and varieties. Hardy water lilies have flowers ranging in colour from white to yellow, pastel pink to intense pink, orange to deep red, and even multi-coloured. Some water lilies in the tropics even range from light blue to deep blue in colour. The blossom time of most hardy water lilies goes from April until the end of September. The water lily is the queen of lakes and ornamental ponds. They are heliophilus and thermophilous plants, that is to say they love expanses of water with good exposure to sunlight. They lose their leaves in winter, and pass this season effortlessly even beneath ice, as long as they are planted at an adequate depth.
Passiflora
Passiflora Caerulea
The passionflower (the common passionflower and the purple passionflower in particular) is a plant with white, light blue and purple flowers, cultivated mainly for decorative purposes. Its flowers appear in summer and its fruits are eatable. The curative properties of the passionflower were already known in antiquity to the Aztecs who used it as a relaxant. During the First World War, the passionflower was used to treat generalised anxiety disorder provoked by combat. It can also be useful in treating asthma, palpitations, attention deficit and high blood pressure.
Like lemon balm, linden and valerian, the passionflower is considered a veritable relaxing herb. Its sedative action on the nervous system guarantees a continuous and peaceful night-time sleep. Its antispasmodic action permits its use in cases owing to muscular contractures, such as menstrual cramps.
Prunus Serrulata
Il Prunus Serrulata (Sakura)
The cherry blossom, Sakura, is the symbol of Japan. For the Japanese, the Cherry flower with its delicacy and brief existence is the symbol of fragility, but also of rebirth, and the beauty of existence. It has always been considered predictive of the abundance of the rice crop, a good omen for the future of students, as they begin the school year in the month the Sakura begins to flower, for recent high school or university graduates who in the same month enter the work market. Sakura is also seen as a representation of the qualities of the Samurai: purity, loyalty, honesty and courage. And just as the fragility and ephemeral beauty of this flower in full blossom dies, leaving only the branch, so the Samurai is ready to lose his life in battle in the name of the principles he believes in. This is the image of an ideal death, pure and detached from the impermanence of life and earthly goods. The custom of admiring the beauty of flowers of the Cherry Tree in Japan is a tradition called hanami.
Other varieties:
Amanogawa: Dense bunches of white flowers with delicate shades of pink appear in late spring, deliciously scented with a fragrance similar to that of freesia. When young, the leaves are bronze-green in colour.
Zankan: The flowers are of an intense pink, double and very dense: all this makes the plant very attractive when it is in full flower.
Rosa ClairMatin
Rosa Clair Matin (Rosa)
This climbing rose with dense, dark-green foliage produces bunches of small flowers of a light pink that tends to salmon. A vigorous plant with excellent vegetation, it is suited to walls, façades or arches and columns.
Roses: The rose belongs to the family Rosaceae. It is a genus that embraces about 150 species and numerous varieties with an infinite number of hybrids and cultivars. It is native to Europe and Asia and grows from 20 cm to various metres in height. Its species can be bushy, sarmentose, climbing, trailing, shrubs and saplings, presenting flowers large or small, in bunches, panicles or solitary, simple or double, with achene fruits contained in an accessory fruit (rose-hip).
Its spontaneous species in Italy number more than 30, including the Rosa canina (the most common), the R. gallica or French rose (not very common and found on moorland and pebbly terrain), the R. glauca or red-leaf rose (frequent in the Alps), the R. pendulina or Alpine rose (common in the Alps and the northern Apennines), and the R. sempervirens or evergreen rose. Countless virtues are attributed to the rose and contained in its essential oils, making it one of the extracts most used in cosmetic products.
The rose is an antiseptic, an astringent for both internal and external use, and a freshener. Its flowers contain gallic acid, gallic tannin, flavonic glucoside, ethereal oil, wax, glucose, colouring substances and mineral salts.
For officinal and cosmetic uses, it is best not to use flowers that have been fertilised with artificial compounds or treated with pesticides.
The most ancient beneficial effect dates back to 1350 A.D. in the form of rose water with its refreshing action, prepared with the petals and seeds, which was often used to lower fever, attenuate inflammation and dispel excessive heat from the body.
The essential oil extracted from the flower of Damascus (the Rosa x damascena or Damask rose) is simple to recognise for its characteristic and delicate fragrance, made up of more than 500 different aromatic substances. The essential oil of the rose is in fact a much
sought-after ingredient in cosmetics, and it is so precious that it takes 4 kilograms of rose petals to make a single little flacon of essential oil.
Rose attar, the star of perfumery, is obtained by steam distilling rose petals or by means of the enfleurage method: an extraction technique that respects both the flower’s fragility and scent.
In any case, rose formulas are cure-alls for sensitive skin, dry skin, skin with fine pores and sheer consistence, fragile skin that tends to wrinkle due to it being insufficiently moisturised.
The rose is utilised in cosmetic products to treat all of these skin types, because it calms irritation, moisturises and heals. Rose-based cosmetic formulas treat reddening of the skin and rosacea; rose essence indeed also has vasoconstrictive properties. Cosmetic products with a rose essence base are also anti-ageing and ideal to redress the imbalance of lifeless and stressed skin, and to firm the tissues.
The active ingredients of rose essential oil enable the skin to remain elastic, tonic and youthful, and reduce the formation of wrinkles. Moreover, the natural substances of the rose help the skin cells to maintain a liquid that combined with proteinic substances (collagen) is responsible for skin tone.
We recommend Acqua di Rose, Acqua di Colonia alla Rosa, Sapone Latte alla Rosa, Latte Corpo Rosa Gardenia, Candele alla Rosa, Tavolette di Cera profumata alla Rosa, Elisir di Rose, and Talborina alla Rosa by Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.
Rosa Novella
Rosa Novella
Crossbred by Nicola Cavina for Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, the Rosa Novella is a very fragrant hybrid of the French rose.
It seems that roses have existed on earth for more than 40 million years and nature, in the form of the wind or animals, has hybridised them, transporting the pollen from one to another. Indeed, the exact number of its original botanical species is unknown, but they are estimated to be approximately 150/200.
And so things continued spontaneously up until a few centuries ago when man also began to crossbreed different varieties in search of more interesting plants.
“In our nursery,” says Nicola Cavina, “we instead liked the idea of leaving the choice of paternity to fate, while we are very careful in choosing various factors (flower shape, size, colour, scent, resistance to diseases, robustness and longevity). The mother plant, from whose fruit we shall extract the seeds that, once sprouted, will give life to many different varieties of roses, and this is where the most interesting job starts, selection. In fact, from each fruit, we obtain up to 30/40 seedlings, each of which will produce a different result: some have no aesthetic value, while others seem to be particularly susceptible to diseases, and others still are simply very similar to the mother. So there is always a lot of suspense when the saplings start to flower: will this be the time that we obtain the perfect rose? For now, the perfect rose is beyond our reach but once in a while – in truth, very, very rarely – you make a lucky strike and find yourself with a plant like the Novella, an almost perfect rose. The plant forms a fine bush, measuring up to 1.20 m. in height with average-sized stems and leaves of an intense green, many fine thorns, double flowers of about 8 cm. in diameter with a rosette shape of a pure pink colour and highly scented. It is also quite resistant to the normal diseases of roses. Furthermore, the most astonishing thing about the Novella is its continuous reflowering. This is because the Novella Rose is a President de Sèze, a rose of the Gallic variety that originates precisely on the European continent, whose origins are lost in the remotest past and that, like all Gallic roses, flowers only once a year, in spring, while the Novella rose is practically always in flower, from April to November.”
Rosa Pierre de Ronsarde
Rosa Pierre De Ronsarde
This climbing rose produces large, petalodic flowers of an intense pink that shades into shell pink with a white-green bud. It is flexuous and can be cultivated even as a large shrub.
Roses: The rose belongs to the family Rosaceae. It is a genus that embraces about 150 species and numerous varieties with an infinite number of hybrids and cultivars. It is native to Europe and Asia and grows from 20 cm to various metres in height. Its species can be bushy, sarmentose, climbing, trailing, shrubs and saplings, presenting flowers large or small, in bunches, panicles or solitary, simple or double, with achene fruits contained in an accessory fruit (rose-hip).
Its spontaneous species in Italy number more than 30, including the Rosa canina (the most common), the R. gallica or French rose (not very common and found on moorland and pebbly terrain), the R. glauca or red-leaf rose (frequent in the Alps), the R. pendulina or Alpine rose (common in the Alps and the northern Apennines), and the R. sempervirens or evergreen rose. Countless virtues are attributed to the rose and contained in its essential oils, making it one of the extracts most used in cosmetic products.
The rose is an antiseptic, an astringent for both internal and external use, and a freshener. Its flowers contain gallic acid, gallic tannin, flavonic glucoside, ethereal oil, wax, glucose, colouring substances and mineral salts.
For officinal and cosmetic uses, it is best not to use flowers that have been fertilised with artificial compounds or treated with pesticides.
The most ancient beneficial effect dates back to 1350 A.D. in the form of rose water with its refreshing action, prepared with the petals and seeds, which was often used to lower fever, attenuate inflammation and dispel excessive heat from the body.
The essential oil extracted from the flower of Damascus (the Rosa x damascena or Damask rose) is simple to recognise for its characteristic and delicate fragrance, made up of more than 500 different aromatic substances. The essential oil of the rose is in fact a much
sought-after ingredient in cosmetics, and it is so precious that it takes 4 kilograms of rose petals to make a single little flacon of essential oil.
Rose attar, the star of perfumery, is obtained by steam distilling rose petals or by means of the enfleurage method: an extraction technique that respects both the flower’s fragility and scent.
In any case, rose formulas are cure-alls for sensitive skin, dry skin, skin with fine pores and sheer consistence, fragile skin that tends to wrinkle due to it being insufficiently moisturised.
The rose is utilised in cosmetic products to treat all of these skin types, because it calms irritation, moisturises and heals. Rose-based cosmetic formulas treat reddening of the skin and rosacea; rose essence indeed also has vasoconstrictive properties. Cosmetic products with a rose essence base are also anti-ageing and ideal to redress the imbalance of lifeless and stressed skin, and to firm the tissues.
The active ingredients of rose essential oil enable the skin to remain elastic, tonic and youthful, and reduce the formation of wrinkles. Moreover, the natural substances of the rose help the skin cells to maintain a liquid that combined with proteinic substances (collagen) is responsible for skin tone.
We recommend Acqua di Rose, Acqua di Colonia alla Rosa, Sapone Latte alla Rosa, Latte Corpo Rosa Gardenia, Candele alla Rosa, Tavolette di Cera profumata alla Rosa, Elisir di Rose, and Talborina alla Rosa by Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.
Rosmarinus Officinalis
Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosmarino)
Rosemary is a perennial shrub with fragrant leaves that are prized in the kitchen. It belongs to the family Labiatae and grows spontaneously in Italy along the entire Mediterranean coast.
It appears that its name, Rosmarinus officinalis, derives from two Latin words: ros, dew and maris, which means the colour of the sea. It is told that in the XVII century, the ageing queen of Hungary, Isabel”, who suffered many ailments, found a second youth thanks to an infusion of rosemary. In the classical age, it was associated with intelligence. The ancient Egyptians considered it the plant of immortality for its properties.
It is used in the making of many fragrances, such as Acqua di Santa Maia Novella - Parfum and Colonia Russa.
Salvia Officinalis
Salvia Officinalis (Salvia)
Sage contains an essential oil that is made up mainly of thujone, which it produces in greatest quantity in particularly warm periods, therefore summer. In addition to essential oil, we also find vitamins B1 and C, flavonoids (known for their antioxidant properties), tannins, oxalic acid, mucilage, saponin, resins and enzymes.
It is considered a panacea for a vast typology of ailments. Indeed, an old proverb says more or less: “sage in the garden means health in the body”. Due to its bactericidal properties, sage is indicated for the prevention and treatment of ailments such as cough, cold, asthma and irritated throat.
Sage stimulates the secretion of gastric juices and is therefore considered an excellent digestive.
Salvia Splendens
Salvia Splendens
Salvia splendens, commonly known as scarlet sage, is a perennial annual herbaceous plant native to South America, which is cultivated in the garden as an annual plant. The plant’s aerial portion consists of erect stalks covered with dentate ovate leaves of an intense green. Numerous flowers blossom from its apex stems.
Thymus Serpyllum
Thymus Serpyllum (Timo)
The use of species of the genus Thymus for both officinal and culinary purposes is very ancient.
Its use with food derives not only from its aromatic properties, as well as from its antiseptic properties, which facilitate food preservation.
Scientific studies have shown that the antiseptic effect of thyme is so strong that it can kill bacilli in 40 seconds. Thyme contains an essential oil (in different percentages depending on the species) whose principal constituent is thymol.
Thyme is recognised as having the following properties: antiseptic, antispasmodic, mildly laxative, carminative, antibiotic, antimycotic, odorant, diuretic, and balsamic. Thyme is also considered an invigorating substance, recommended in the case of respiratory problems, bad digestion, colitis and cystitis.
Verbena Officinalis
Verbena Officinalis (Verbena)
The word derives from the Latin term used to indicate these plants, which in a broad sense means “sacred sprig”, in consideration of the fact that it was often used in ceremonies precisely of this type.
It is native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas and the Mediterranean basin.
It includes some 250 species of herbaceous, annual, biennial or perennial plants utilised in gardens as bordering or flowerbeds, in pots to ornament terraces, and in perfumery to obtain essences. Also belonging to this genus is the V. officinalis, which used in infusions (the entire flowered plant or leaves) has digestive, cicatrizant and painkilling properties. These plants have erect, quadrangular stalks (flat on one side) that can reach 40-80 cm in height and have oval, dentate leaves. In summer they produce a great number of flowers similar to primulas that give off a pleasant, penetrating scent and blossom in terminal spikes. Verbena is a very ancient herbal remedy, and its most popular use is in the form of a decoction as an antispasmodic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and a mild tonic. In cosmetics, in infusion form it can be used to decongest the eyes. Verbena is also useful in digestive disorders and to promote hepatic and choleretic activity.
The fragrance recreated on the basis of the scent of verbena is found in the following products: Estratto ambiente Verbena, Sapone a base di latte Verbena, Acqua di Colonia Verbena, Candela Verbena.
The Vegetable Garden of Santa Maria Novella Fruits and vegetables
Alium Cepa
Allium Cepa (Cipolla)
The onion is a bulbous herbaceous plant belonging to the family Liliaceae. It originated in Asia and is one of the most ancient vegetables used by man. The Egyptians used it, followed by the Greeks and Romans who were familiar with its properties and therapeutic virtues. It is believed that during the construction of the pyramids, great quantities of onions and garlic were purchased and served as the principal food of the slave labourers. In ancient Mesopotamia, the onion was considered a cure-all for many diseases, and the latest studies on the topic confirm this vegetable’s many curative properties.
The ideal sowing time for the onion is autumn, possibly in soil with good exposure to the sun and rich in phosphorus and potassium. About four months pass from sowing to harvest.
The onion’s fame and its curative properties are lost in remotest antiquity. Its pharmacological activity overlaps that of garlic, with which it indeed shares many properties. The onion contains substances with an antibiotic and antibacterial effect; its juice applied to the surface to disinfect avoids using alcohol or other similar substances.
The onion is utilised in treating arteriosclerosis, hypertension, problems of the urinary system (infections), and has diuretic and depurative properties. Thanks to its antibacterial properties, it is very useful in treating inflammations of the respiratory tract and influenza in general.
Its applications for external use are also interesting: onions can be used to treat pimples, warts, burns and abscesses.
Interessanti anche le sue applicazioni per uso esterno: possiamo impiegare la cipolla per curare foruncoli, verruche, scottature ed ascessi.
Allium Sativum
Allium Sativum (Aglio)
Garlic (Allium sativum) belongs to the family of the Aliaceae. Most vegetables of this family have a bulb, which is simply a short modified stalk. Few vegetables can boast as great a number of food and health-giving properties as garlic, which makes it a very precious vegetable. It has been prized since antiquity for its unique aroma and, with time, its fame grew and embraced so many therapeutic attributes that it was frequently used to heal and, especially, prevent various types of disturbance and even epidemics. The soldiers of ancient Rome, for example, ate enormous quantities of garlic, as they believed it capable of purifying and fortifying the body.
The precious garlic bulb contains about 400 different components that are curative for the human organism. In addition to micronutrients and mineral salts, garlic contains vitamins A, B1, B2 and vitamin C.
First of all, garlic works as an effective antiseptic and bactericide, destroying microbes and bacteria and preventing their proliferation. It is one of the most effective antioxidants in nature, and thus protects the cells of our organism from early ageing, deterioration and consequent diseases.
Contrary to what many people believe, garlic also has digestive properties and can have enormous benefits in fighting intestinal parasites.
L'aglio agisce innanzitutto come efficace antisettico e battericida, distrugge i microbi e i batteri e ne impedisce la proliferazione. E' uno degli antiossidanti più efficaci che vi sia in natura, protegge quindi le cellule del nostro organismo da un precoce invecchiamento nonché dal deterioramento e conseguenti malattie.
Contrariamente a quanto molti credono, l'aglio ha anche proprietà digestive ed è in grado di apportare enormi benefici nella lotta contro i parassiti intestinali.
itrus Limonum
Citrus Limonum (Limone)
Known by the name of Citrus lemon, from the family Rutaceae, the lemon is a prized citrus fruit for its numerous and beneficial properties, and precisely for this reason, since antiquity it was considered a sort of “panacea for all ailments”. It grows on a tree that can reach 6 metres in height and has white petals and oval-shaped fruits with a protuberance at one end and pointed at the other.
The lemon was discovered in India, China and Indochina where it was utilised for its antiseptic and antirheumatic properties, and it seems that the ancient Egyptians even used it in the process of embalming mummies. The Muslims considered it a sacred fruit and it was often used as an antidote against poisons, and even as an object to ward off negativity. In Greece, it was instead used to perfume linen and defend it from moths. The fruit began to spread in Italy only as of the XII century, thanks to the Arabs who brought it to Sicily from where it spread to the other regions of the country. Its use in the kitchen though, dates to the XVIII century.
The essential oil is extracted from the rind using the cold-pressing method, which produces a light yellow liquid that tends to green and has the typical fragrance of citrus fruits. The essential oil is very light, its colour ranging from yellow to pale green. Its top note does not last long and if it is to be noticed in a fragrance, this essence has to be reinforced with neroli or petit-grains, taking the citrusy scent onto the heart notes. Utilised in perfumery to create refreshing notes in combination with sweet or fruity notes, it is also the main element in citrusy compounds and Chypre accords.
In essential oil form, it is an ingredient of Acqua di Santa Maria Novella-Parfum, dell’Acqua di Colonia Russa, dell’Acqua di Colonia Sicilia. It is a fundamental ingredient of Crema per le mani, as well as one of the ingredients of Gel riposagambe.
Cynara Scolymus
Cynara Scolymus (Carciofo)
The artichoke is a plant of Mediterranean origin. It has a robust and branched stalk and reaches a height of 1.20 metres. The artichoke has been known and eaten since antiquity, starting with the Egyptians and followed by the Greeks and Romans. It is harvested from October to June, and many species produce vegetables several times a year. It is very common in Italy, especially in the Mediterranean area, where the vastest crops are found in Liguria, Tuscany, Sardinia, Lazio and Puglia, and our country is today the world leader in its production. Various types of artichoke are found on the market, roundish or long, with or without thorns, and in various shades of green with purplish-blue gradations. There are about 90 varieties of artichoke cultivated in the world.
The secret of its virtues lies in cynarine, the aromatic substance that gives its characteristic bitter taste, as well as many of its beneficial and therapeutic properties. The artichoke
Fragaria
Fragaria
The strawberry is considered to be a cluster fruit, because it is the enlarged receptacle of an inflorescence, generally positioned on a stem.
The strawberry possesses many salubrious virtues: firstly, it has a very high antioxidant power that surpasses that of other foods more than 20 times, and is rich in vitamin C in comparison to citrus fruits. That’s not all though: it is also very rich in calcium, iron and magnesium, and it is advised for sufferers of rheumatism and cold-related diseases. Strawberries also have a high phosphorus content.
Jasminoides Officinalis
Jasminoides Officinalis (Gelsomino)
The word “jasmine” comes from the Persian, “yasamin”. Very ancient traces of jasmine have been found in Egypt, and tiny fragments have been found on a pharaoh’s mummy. In the Orient it has been considered the symbol of love and female temptation for centuries. In India, Kâma the god of love, used jasmine flowers to capture his victims. It is told that Cleopatra would meet Marc Antony on a boat with jasmine scented sails. Native to Malabar in the East Indies, Spanish sailors imported it to Europe around 1500, but traces of it could be found in Italy before that time. It is told that Cosimo de’ Medici, determined to be the only possessor, severely prohibited his gardeners from gifting even a single plant, ordering them instead to grow as many specimens as possible. Still today in Tuscany, the jasmine is added to the bride’s bouquet so that it will bring good luck to her husband. Sambac jasmine or Indian jasmine is still widely used in perfumery to this day and in the recent making of products for women. This variety is characterised by a penetrating, intense and sensual odour.
Malus e Pirus
Malus et Pyrus
During the Middle Ages, the importance of fruit trees surpassed that of the fruits of the earth (potatoes, legumes, etc.). Moreover, in monasteries and cemeteries, the fruit tree as such gradually assumed a symbolic meaning: the plant that rises skywards is an allusion to the fruits of earthly paradise. So it was that the shape and habit of plants took on what was also an aesthetic importance.
In the XVII century Louis XIV played an absolutely essential role: he ordered that the fruits served at the royal table should be not only good, but also pleasing to the eye, and available in almost every season. During the construction of the Versailles gardens, the king appointed the attorney Jean Baptiste de la Quintinye to the post of Director of the King’s Vegetable Garden and Orchard with the task of creating an orchard that was beautiful and performed both a scenographic and theatrical function. The Orchard also had to produce fruit early, and these fruits had to be good.
By shaping the fruit trees into a candelabrum or cordon form, de la Quintinye obtained a pleasant aesthetic result and enabled the sun’s rays to reach all the fruit, so that they assumed brighter colours and improved their sugar concentration, thereby anticipating ripening, which was further boosted by positioning them against sun-bathed walls.
Similarly arranged apple and pear trees can still be found today at Versailles and in the famous Jardin de Villandry on the Loire, as well as in old parks and castles all over France.
Apple tree: An apple a day keeps the doctor away … here’s why the famous proverb is grounded in truth: the apple is indeed considered a natural medicine, a remedy for many problems. Firstly, because this fruit contains very few proteins and practically no fats (100 grams of apple correspond to about 40 calories, 10 grams of sugar and large quantities of potassium, vitamin B, citric acid and malic acid). Furthermore, it contains vitamin B1, which fights lack of appetite, fatigue, and tension, and vitamin B2, which facilitates digestion, protects the mucous membrane of the mouth, and reinforces hair, finger and toenails.
Pear tree: With the term Pear, we refer to the fruit of the plants belonging to the genus Pyrus, (in reality, as with the Apple Tree, we are speaking of a pome and therefore of a false or accessory fruit). The genus Pyrus embraces many different species, including the
most important and best-known, which is Pyrus communis. Native to western Asia, where it can still be found growing spontaneously, the pear tree is today cultivated intensively in China and Europe. As with the Apple, the Pear is a fruit tree that can be found in many varieties distinguishable by form, as well on the basis of skin colours. In any case, however, all Pear varieties possess considerable beneficial properties. Pears are rich in fibre (especially the skins), which is extremely useful for the proper functioning of the intestine. The high content of potassium found in the Pear make this fruit suited to a low-salt diet.
Melissa Officinalis
Melissa Officinalis
Melissa officinalis L., family of the Labiatae, is a perennial herbaceous plant with an erect, hairy and ramose quadrangular stalk that reaches heights of up to 80 cm. Each plant has numerous stalks branching out at the base, large opposite, petiolated, oval leaves and small white or pinkish-white flowers grouped into axillary glomerules of from six to twelve flowers with a pleasant lemon scent (it flowers in summer). The parts used are the leaves and the flowered tops. Its properties are aromatizing, digestive, choleretic, and antispasmodic.
Distilled water of melissa is an ingredient of Acqua di Melissa.
Menta Piperita
Mentha Piperita (Menta)
The myth narrates that Zeus fell in love with the beautiful nymph, Myrtle, but she rejected him.
Incensed at her refusal, he transformed her into a plant.
Peppermint belongs to the family of the Labiatae and is a cross between three types of mint.
The parts utilised are the leaves and flowered tops. It is an erect perennial plant with flowers arranged in verticils; the stalk is hairy, and its ovate leaves are very aromatic. The corollas of the flowers are pinkish in colour. It is a garden plant that flowers in summer.
Peppermint has a calming effect on the stomach and intestine.
Its essential oil is utilised in cosmetics for its fragrant, refreshing, soothing and decongestive properties.
It is used as an ingredient in the natural fragrance of Acqua di Santa Maria Novella, Pasticche di Santa Maria Novella, and Acqua di Erba di Santa Maria.
Punica Granatum
Punica Granatum (Melograno)
The Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) belongs to the family of Punicaceae, genus Punica, species P. granatum (for the production of fruits). It is a species that originated in Western Asia.
Its fruit is complex, made up of a fleshy berry called pomegranate, with a thick rind, contained in the thallus and with various polyspermal cavities separated by membranes. Inside, it contains many prism-shaped pulpy and very juicy seeds with a fleshy head and woody integument.
The ripe fruit is greenish-yellow with reddish areas that at times occupy the fruit’s entire surface.
In ancient Greece, the pomegranate was used as an anti-inflammatory and, thanks to its astringent properties, also to fight chronic diarrhoea. Rich in potassium, which is a mineral with diuretic properties, it has a draining effect and is thus detoxifying for our organism. Excellent against oxidative stress, it therefore has anti-ageing and anti-tumoural properties, which is also the merit of the high percentage of polyphenols it contains, which are precious to fight arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. A recent Japanese study seems to identify other beneficial properties in this fruit. This study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology affirms that pomegranate juice (which proved effective on laboratory animals) could help women in the treatment of several disturbances of menopause, such as depression and fragile bones.
An oil rich in polyunsaturated fats is extracted from the seeds.
The POMEGRANATE scented note that evokes prosperity and the wellbeing the ancient world attributed to its fruit is at the basis of the following products: Talborina Melograno, Acqua di Colonia Melograno, Latte corpo Melograno, Lozione dopobarba Melograno, Balsamo per capelli, Shampoo Melograno, Bagnoschiuma Alghe Marine, Candela Melograno, Crema anticellulite, Olio dermoprotettivo.
Siringa Vulgaris
Syringa Vulgaris (Serenella)
Commonly called lilac, the Syringa is native to the Balkans. Reintroduced to Europe from Turkey as a flowering plant in the XVI century, it was extraordinarily popular in the late XIX and early XX century, and then progressively fell into oblivion. Today, thanks to the rediscovery of ancient varieties and a greater attention to the sensory aspect of the garden – intended as a synergy between shapes, colours and scents – they are winning a circle of staunch admirers. The most common colours are violet, mauve, lavender blue, purple and pink, but there are also numerous varieties and hybrids with red or white flowers, such as the “Blancheur” of French origin, or the “Vestale”, which make it possible to form colourful hedges that flower in stages.
Its blossoms for barely two weeks, and its fragrance can be smelled even at a distance of a few metres.
Today, the Lilac is widely employed in perfumery for its very delicate fragrance, which is derived from the essential oil extracted from its flowers by means of volatile solvents, in the form of concrete and absolute.
Solanum Lycopersicum
Solanum Lycopersicum (Pomodoro)
The plant is of the family Solanaceae (Solanum lycopersicum). Some scholars consider its name derived from the Latin “pomum aureus” (golden apple or pome), while others associate its etymology with the Aztec “Xitotomate” or “Nahuatl Tomatl” (of Mexican origin).
The fruits of the tomato, also called tomatoes, are green or red berries of different sizes, depending on the variety. The taste of its pulp is rather acidic and also varies according to the variety.
Tomatoes (fruits) are rich in water, which constitutes more than 94% of their make up; carbohydrates represent almost 3%, while proteins are calculated around 1.2%, fibre 1% and, lastly, fats represent only 0.2%.
Tomatoes contain fair quantities of vitamins: the B group vitamins, ascorbic acid, vitamin D and, especially, vitamin E, which give the tomato its well-known antioxidant and vitaminizing properties.
They also have a considerable mineral content: iron, zinc, selenium, phosphorus and calcium combined with citrates, tartrates and nitrates work in synergy to ensure remineralizing and antiradical properties.
They have a moderate content of organic acids, such as malic, citric, succinic and gluteninic acids, useful in promoting digestion.
Its red colour derives from lycopene, which is mainly assumed when the tomato is concentrated and cooked. Lycopene is one of the most powerful natural antioxidants known.
Solanum Tuberosum
Solanum Tuberosum (Patate)
The tuber of potatoes, scientific name Solanum tuberosum, is a perennial plant of the family Solanaceae, and its tubers are the most consumed and, at the same time, the most cultivated food in the world. Its origins date back to about 3000 B.C. among the Incas where it was called “papa”.
Potatoes reached Europe only in the XVI century, brought here by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro.
From the remotest times, potatoes were held in a certain consideration thanks to their curative and nutritional properties. In Italy, Pope Pius IV was a great supporter of the curative properties of the potato, thanks to the fact that he had recovered from a serious illness precisely by following a potato-based treatment.
Currently in the world, there are about two thousand varieties of potatoes, which can be divided, for convenience, into two large groups: white-pulp potatoes, which are rather mealy and therefore suited to prepare mashed or crushed in general, and yellow-pulp potatoes with a more compact pulp and thus suited to being cooked whole or fried.
Olivum
Olivum
The area of origin of the Olive Tree (Olea europaea L.) is believed to be Transcaucasia (12,000 B.C.), though many consider it a strictly Mediterranean plant. It has indeed acclimatised itself very well to the Mediterranean basin, especially in the “orange belt” where the principal crop is that of citrus fruits associated with that of the olive: this belt includes countries like Italy, southern Spain and France, Greece and several middle-eastern countries that look onto the eastern Mediterranean. The cultivated olive tree belongs to the vast family of the Oleaceae.
Extra-virgin olive oil is the pièce de résistance of the Mediterranean diet, and performs an important anti-ageing action not only on the skin, but also on the entire organism in general. This is due principally to its wealth of polyphenols and vitamin E, which in combination with carotenoids (especially beta-carotene) fight free radicals, oxidative stress and inflammation.
We recommend Sapone all’Olio d’Oliva by Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.
Vicia Faba
Vicia Faba (Fave)
Vicia faba, commonly known as broad bean, is the fruit of an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the family of Leguminosae. It probably originated in Asian countries and was later cultivated by the Egyptians, Romans and Greeks.
Broad beans grow inside pods measuring about 20 cm in length where the beans are encased in a skin that depending on the variety has a different colour: green, violet or reddish.
The greatest producers of broad beans are Germany, Italy and China, where these legumes are planted between January and March, and harvested shortly before ripe in spring, between April and May.
Younger broad beans are the ones best suited to being eaten raw, while on the contrary, the riper ones need to be cooked.
Broad beans are among the legumes with the lowest caloric content, very nutritional, and particularly suited to fighting anaemia.
The abundance of fibre contained in broad beans favours the activity of the intestine, contributing to the elimination of toxins and roughage. In addition to protecting the organism from diseases, its vitamin C content also enables the absorption of the iron contained in the beans.
