History

The Picciola Pharmacy Museum in Vercelli is a place where time seems to stand still, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in a past filled with mystery and charm. Upon entering, one is greeted by an atmosphere thick with ancient remedies and alchemical secrets, where modern science finds its roots.Visitors' eyes are immediately drawn to the wooden boxes lined up on the shelves, with faded labels bearing evocative names like "Bicarbonate of Soda," "Boric Acid," and "Paraffin." These containers, silent witnesses of a bygone era, hold stories of preparations and cures, of illnesses and recoveries. Each box is a window into…

In the heart of the Middle Ages, a new conception of time began to take shape, transitioning from the fleeting shadows of canonical hours to the brilliant innovations of clock mechanisms. Originally, the day was punctuated by monastic prayers: Matins in the stillness of the night, Lauds at dawn, following the solar rhythm with Prime at 6:00 AM, Terce at 9:00 AM, Sext at noon, None at 3:00 PM, Vespers at sunset, and Compline before nightly rest. This division defined the essence of daily life, influencing not only clergy and nobility but also peasants and soldiers. Orologio astronomico di Praga…

Friedrich Herlin: La circoncisione di Cristo, 1466 (Polittico di Rothenburg, Germania) The collective imagination often associates the Middle Ages with an era of darkness, where superstition, ignorance, and violence prevailed. This perception, solidified in the 18th century by the Enlightenment thinkers, overshadows the countless innovations and cultural progress that characterized this thousand-year period.Anything that appears backward today is commonly labeled as “medieval,” perpetuating the Enlightenment’s idea that condemned the Middle Ages as an era of fanaticism and religious obscurantism. However, it is essential to remember that the Middle Ages were also a melting pot of culture, legal developments, and revolutionary…