Healing Plants of Renaissance Florence

Book excerpt: The Renaissance was a period of unparalleled beauty, excitement, and interest in Florence, despite frequent plagues and wars, thanks in large part to the presence of the Medici family, who virtually invented modern banking and accountancy. They were outstanding as enlightened and successful patrons of art, architecture, science, philosophy, and above all, every aspect of plant medicine. They collected medicinal and rare plants and created large botanic gardens, which are still there today. The Medici patronage of the University of Pisa, Cosimo I's creation of the chair of simples (medicinal plants), and his employment of Luca Ghini revolutionised how herbal medicine was taught. This book traces the development of the first hospital and academic medicinal plant garden in Florence, under the guidance of the great Cosimo I de Medici, and looks at the plants he and his sons used in their alchemical laboratories to create herbal medicines. A selection of these plants is investigated in detail, looking at how they can be used today, including their chemistry and healing properties, as well as research that has been carried out on them.