Our foundation, our library, is a member of a European association comprising museums, collections, botanical gardens and, of course, libraries. The following text, drafted by the governing bodies, together with the links included, sets out the association’s values and objectives
THE EUROPEAN ROUTE OF HISTORIC PHARMACIES AND MEDICINAL GARDENS
In line with Council of Europe’s values.
Aromas: from raw materials to cultural heritage The European Route of Historic Pharmacies and Medicinal Gardens - Cultural Route of the Council of Europe is a geohistorical journey to emblematic places that preserve extensive aromatic knowledge. These include monastic pharmacies, ancient apothecaries, historical libraries, and botanical and medicinal gardens in European regions where such knowledge has historically stimulated intercultural and interreligious dialogue. These places also serve as a memory of a vast intangible heritage, encompassing scientific, botanical, and medical knowledge, ancestral crafts such as those of apothecaries and producers of medicinal plants—essential for the health of Europeans—and traditional knowledge and customs related to the use of aromatic substances in various human dimensions, whether spiritual or not, such as rituals, cosmetics, healing, and cooking.
Aromas: from raw materials to cultural heritage
This intangible heritage connects many European and non-European countries through shared stories of aromas, which have been drivers of trade exchanges since ancient times, fostering dialogue between cultures and the spread of practices and knowledge that transcended geopolitical barriers. As evidence of this common memory, today we can rely on a significant material heritage (ancient apothecaries and historical pharmacies, pharmacy collections, herbaria, prescription books, pharmacy furniture, etc.), which, within the route, is subject to preservation, enhancement, and dissemination efforts.
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