SANTA MARIA NOVELLA, the world’s oldest pharmacy and a legacy brand famous for its fragrances, has opened a new home in London, which can be found at 4 Burlington Gardens.
Here, expect a curated selection of fragrances and signature products that embody the heritage of the pharmacy, and visitors can immerse themselves in Florentine tradition and craftsmanship – after all, Santa Maria Novella dates back to 1221, and the brand has been intertwined with the lives of royals, nobility, and admirers.
Expanding its presence in the UK, where its products have been cherished for centuries, this marks the third London store, joining those in Piccadilly and Walton Street, as well as the corners in Harrods and Liberty London.
Santa Maria Novella Store in Burlington Gardens
This opening marks a significant step in Santa Maria Novella’s ongoing expansion, which continues its tradition of excellence by reinterpreting the Renaissance taste for natural sciences and perfumery art with products distributed in 30 countries and more than 400 points of sale worldwide.
Demonstrating the brand’s commitment to sharing Florentine cultural heritage abroad, and its linked with the Florentine Renaissance and to Leonardo da Vinci in particular, Santa Maria Novella is also supporting “Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael: Florence, c. 1504” at the Royal Academy of Arts – just a stone’s throw away from the boutique.
Santa Maria Novella Store in Burlington Gardens
Giovanna Paoloni, CEO of Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, says, “With our support of this exhibition and the opening of the new Burlington Gardens store we want to strengthen our presence in London and continue the Renaissance tradition of promoting the arts, a legacy that Santa Maria Novella continues to celebrate through the centuries today.”
In 1504, while working on the grand painting, “The Battle of Anghiari”, a piece that was never completed, Leonardo stayed at the convent of Santa Maria Novella, where the brand’s flagship store is still located today. The pharmacy, at the time, had been in operation for almost three centuries and was selling products, such as Acqua di Rose, now an item that’s become synonymous with Florence.
Santa Maria Novella Store in Burlington Gardens
It was here that Leonardo, inspired by the friars’ remedies and aromatic waters, studied botany and perfumery and created glass tools, “alambicchi” a.k.a. alembics, for perfume distillation. His studies and designs inspired a range of artefacts that are still kept in the historic Santa Maria Novella’s store at Via della Scala 16 in Florence.
by Felicity Carter
4 Burlington Gardens, London, W1S 3ER