Antica Officina del Farmacista
A master mixologist creates beautiful scents in Florence.
By Chantal M. McLaughlin
On a quiet block in Florence not far from the Galleria dell'Accademia, where Michelangelo's David holds court, an exquisite scents-and-cosmetics apothecary is home to a modern master toiling in the pursuit of beauty. In a laboratory at the back of Antica Officina del Farmacista, Dr. Paolo Vranjes, a forty-eight-year-old chemist and pharmacist, can often be found mixing solutions. Vranjes creates natural skin-care products and hand-poured and -stirred perfumes and home fragrances inspired by Mediterranean fruits and flowers, the Greek isles and the four elements, then bottles them in elegant, old-fashioned glass jars. The doctor, whose interest in aromas was sparked by his grandfather's passion for collecting rare perfumes, has been in the fragrance business for more than twenty years. He launched his own company eight years ago and has since opened a second store in Florence, on the Borgo La Croce. The artisanal line was for years a well-kept Italian secret, but many of its products are now available in the United States, sold under the name Antica Farmacista at stores such as Takashimaya in New York and Fred Segal Studio in Los Angeles. Prices in both Italy and the United States range from $28 to $82. 63/R Via S. Gallo; 011-39-055-494-537.
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