The museum is located in the ancient
Palazzo Bourbon del Monte in Sansepolcro, and was set up by the
Aboca company, a market leader in the medicinal herbs sector. The museum aims to safeguard and promote the traditional use of medicinal herbs and extracts to promote health. The museum itinerary, called "
Erbe e salute nei secoli", is located over 12 rooms in the charming, 16th century Noble palazzo. Also on display are the ancient tools and utensils used to mix herbs, like mortars, ceramic plates and distillation instruments.
Numerous rooms display recreations of the ancient workshops where herbs were mixed and stored. The itinerary ends with an exhibition space, where over 100 medicinal plants are displayed. The majority of items in the museum hail from the private collection belonging to the Aboca company, while the remainder was purchased after the museum was opened.
You can also visit the Bibliotheca Antiqua, a botanical library composed of about 2,500 printed volumes of alchemy, pharmacopoeia, natural science and ancient recepies.