Like a thread stretched between earth and sky, monasteries have always made room for the production of natural products - based on herbs, honey, fruit… - with healing and cosmetic purposes.
It is a heritage of history and health, but also of ancient wisdom, to be rediscovered, because in this way we become aware of how precious natural products are and how much the echo of God, the creator, is present in nature.

Monasteries

Since their creation, monasteries have been not only places of prayer, but also places of work and hospitality: they often offered shelter to pilgrims and travelers.
As early as the 6th century, the Rule of Saint Benedict provided for an infirmarius in every monastery, that is, a monk “full of love for God, attentive and caring” whose task was to care for the sick. For this very reason, he was also entrusted with the highly important task of growing medicinal herbs: roses, cumin, lilies, sage, and rosemary… A “green” heritage whose medicinal properties and health benefits the monks knew well.

Saint Hildegard of Bingen and the “greening energy”

A Benedictine nun and abbess who lived in the 12th century, Hildegard is famous as a writer, mystic, theologian, and also as an herbalist, naturalist, and healer.
She defines healing as a holistic process whose principles are already present in our bodies and can be stimulated simply through the energies of nature. Central to her thinking is the concept of viriditas: the Latin term refers to the color green, the color of plants as they sprout and express vigor. For Hildegard, this symbolizes the balance of physical and spiritual health, a vital force capable of regenerating human beings: it is what she defines as a “greening energy”.
To preserve it, she therefore recommends eating well-prepared food and using medicinal herbs. “We,” observes Hildegard, “are a living tree, planted in a fiery sky!”.

Camaldoli

Camaldoli (Arezzo), founded a thousand years ago by Saint Romuald, is a community of Benedictine monks.
From the monastery's earliest years, the medical and pharmaceutical arts flourished there. The apothecary monk and the monacus medicus worked together; the latter was responsible for visiting and caring for the sick and administering the medicines prepared by the apothecary.
A document from 1510 confirms that there was a botanical garden near Camaldoli where various medicinal plants were cultivated.
The monks of Camaldoli, guardians of the tradition, have in recent decades steered the work of the Antica Farmacia laboratory toward cosmetic and herbal products.