Antica Spezieria di San Giovanni Evangelista

About the museum

The spezieria (pharmacy) stands in the Benedictine abbey of San Giovanni Evangelista, and its origins are linked to the foundation of the monastery at the end of the 10th century. The first documentary record of a pharmacy dates from 1201. Besides the nearby hospital of San Giovanni, it supplied other city hospitals. In the 15th century it was extended with a large laboratory along the present Borgo Pipa, and between the 16th and 17th centuries it took on the architectural layout it kept for centuries.

In the 18th century the monks entrusted its management to lay pharmacists, in order to avoid the closure imposed by the Bourbon minister Du Tillot. The activity ceased at the end of the 19th century, and the State acquired the premises, which became a museum; in 2024 the spezieria became part of the Complesso monumentale della Pilotta.

After a restoration supported by the Fondazione Cariparma, from 20 October 2024 the route includes eight rooms: alongside the four already open (Sala del Pozzo, Sala del Fuoco, Sala dei Mortai and Sala delle Arpie) there are now the entrance corridor, the Sala della Storia, the Sala della Regola and the Sala dei Veleni. On display are mortars, stills, pharmacy jars, glass, ceramics and antique books on medicine and botany.

Highlights

• Sala dei Mortai with twelve painted lunettes dedicated to masters of ancient medicine
• Sala delle Arpie with portraits of Parma's physicians of the 16th and 17th centuries
• Sala del Pozzo with a 16th-century marble washbasin and stills
• Sala dei Veleni with recipe books and volumes on pharmacy, medicine and botany
• Painted portal of 1748 with the Allegory of Health in the entrance corridor
• Tactile aids for visually impaired visitors and scent corners

Permanent exhibition

• Percorso della Spezieria – Eight rooms recreating the monastic pharmacy: laboratory, mortars, stills, jars, pharmaceutical glass and antique books.

Operated by

Complesso monumentale della Pilotta (Ministero della Cultura)

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Every first Sunday of the month (Domenica al museo) and on the other free-admission days set by the Ministry of Culture.

Free admission also for the categories provided for by the Ministry of Culture and for members of the Amici della Pilotta. For reduced or free tickets bought online, the document that entitles you to the concession must be shown. Tickets are available at the Pilotta ticket office (card payment only) or online. Schools and groups book at cm-pil.scuole@cultura.gov.it.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The renovated route has been equipped with tactile aids for visually impaired people and with scent corners.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The entrance is at Borgo Pipa 1/a, in the former abbey of San Giovanni Evangelista; tickets can also be bought at the ticket office of the Palazzo della Pilotta.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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