The former Conservatorio di Santa Chiara is home to a large exhibition centre which includes the Archaeology Museum, the Spezieria of Santa Fina and the ‘Raffaele De Grada’ Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art. Situated on the first floor, the Santa Fina spice and herb pharmacy, annexed in 1253 to the eponymous hospital, was divided into two rooms which included a “store” and a “laboratory” for the production of medicines for the hospital. The exhibition presents carefully restored objects and furniture from the town’s ancient institutions. The display includes different glass samples datable to between the end of the 16th century and the 18th century and attributable to local production, and in particular some precious pharmacy vases from the 15th-18th centuries, which still contain substances that were used to prepare medicines and that still accompany visitors with their beneficial aromas.
