Ca’ Granda, Hortus simplicium: Restoring an Ancient Medicinal Garden of XV–XIX Century in Milan (Italy)

Abstract

This work is based on the study of 150 majolica vases dated back to the mid XVII century that once preserved medicinal remedies prepared in the ancient Pharmacy annexed to the Ospedale Maggiore Ca’ Granda in Milan (Lombardy, Italy). The Hortus simplicium was created in 1641 as a source of plant-based ingredients for those remedies. The main objective of the present work is to lay the knowledge base for the restoration of the ancient Garden for educational and informative purposes. Therefore, the following complementary phases were carried out: (i) the analysis of the inscriptions on the jars, along with the survey on historical medical texts, allowing for the positive identification of the plant ingredients of the remedies and their ancient use as medicines; (ii) the bibliographic research in modern pharmacological literature in order to validate or refute the historical uses; (iii) the realization of the checklist of plants potentially present in cultivation at the ancient Garden, concurrently with the comparison with the results of a previous in situ archaeobotanical study concerning pollen grains. For the species selection, considerations were made also regarding drug amounts in the remedies and pedoclimatic conditions of the study area. Out of the 150 vases, 108 contained plant-based remedies, corresponding to 148 taxa. The remedies mainly treated gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders. At least one of the medicinal uses was validated in scientific literature for 112 out of the 148 examined species. Finally, a checklist of 40 taxa, presumably hosted in the Hortus simplicium, was assembled.

Ca’ Granda, Hortus simplicium: medicinal species for the treatment of upper airways disorders during the XV-XIX centuries

“…The importance of these artifacts can be found not only in the historical and artistic research proposed here, but also in the study of the jars contents themselves. In fact, this opens several avenues of research linked to the procurement of plant species, their cultivation at the Garden of Simples of the Hospital (Bottoni et al 2021), and to the various mixtures of said species in relation to specific therapeutic uses. The investigation on the 150 jars that survived until today has been recently completed.…”

“…The investigation on the 150 jars that survived until today has been recently completed. Particular attention was paid to the type and origin of the remedies that were once preserved in the collection, since these remedies were indicated by inscriptions on the jars themselves (Bottoni et al 2021). As a matter of fact, this investigation stemmed from a careful analysis of the inscriptions with the objective of listing the plant species used in the preparation of the remedies.…”

“…The goal of this research was to obtain the recipes of the remedies inscribed on the jars, and thus the plant-based ingredients contained therein. From this work, it was determined that out of the 150 jars, 108 contained remedies which were predominantly plant-based in origin (Bottoni et al 2021). The subsequent tabulation of the jars and all the information thus far gathered allowed for general evaluations concerning the most representative botanical families and genera (Apiaceae and Lamiaceae for the former, with 16 taxa each, and Mentha, Origanum, and Prunus for the latter, with 3 species each).…”

“…We can hypothesize that it could be used in case of asthma and shortness of breath. Regarding respiratory tract diseases, scientific literature ascribes anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, myorelaxant, antitussive, antifibrotic, and anti-asthmatic properties to most of the species of the Electuarium (Bottoni et al 2021).…”

“…In 1640, various construction works are documented, as well as the designation of an area that would become the Hortum simplicium (Garden of Simples). The archaeological and palynological analyses carried out in this area have shown a correlation with the plants listed in the archive inventories (Bosi et al 2012, Bottoni et al 2021. Between 1640 and 1643, 575 jars were commissioned by the Pharmacy to the ceramist Michele Valle from Lodi: 37 of these are still preserved in the Hospital collection (Zanchi 1988).…”