The first news about the existence of an apothecary’s shop in the abbey complex of San Giovanni Evangelista in Parma dates back to 1201, but its foundation could also be earlier, since the monastery was founded in 980 AD.
It is likely that at first the Apothecary’s shop was only in the service of the Benedictines and only later became public. The current arrangement, as far as the furnishings are concerned, dates back to the end of the 16th century and the first years of the following one, while the layout of the premises underwent a radical change in 1766, when the Benedictines had to secularize the pharmacy to avoid the definitive closure imposed by the Bourbon minister Guglielmo Du Tillot. In 1896 the State acquired the premises, which were reopened to the public in 1951, and housed a collection of mortars, albarelli, vases, alembics and other objects from various institutions and private donations. Of the eight original rooms of the Spezieria, four remain today, the Sala del Fuoco, the Sala dei Mortai, the Sala delle Sirene and finally the Sala del Pozzo. All the rooms take their name from the specificity of their contents or from the decorative elements that characterize them.
