Farmacia La Fenice [La Fenice Pharmacy]
The pharmacy, situated in one of the historic sixteenth-century buildings traditionally attributed to Bernardo Buontalenti, still conserves its original aspect dating from the middle of the 19th century. It has been owned by the Tarabella family since 1876.
The sales area has kept its original furnishings, consisting of natural wood shelves decorated with pilaster strips and capitals, and enclosed by a frame which also encapsulates the doors leading to the back room. The counter is enriched by a fine "petit granit" marble top. The floor, the coffered ceiling, two columns with urn-shaped vases, as well as a desk and a chair (testifying to the social role played by pharmacies in the past) are also antique.
A marble memorial stone inside the pharmacy recalls a visit to Seravezza by Giosuč Carducci. Not far from the pharmacy, in fact, is the house in which the poet's father stayed.
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Texts by Francesco Boccanera, Anna Vittoria Laghi
English translation by Catherine Frost
Last update 21/gen/2008