Dipartimento di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farmaco

Descrizione del progetto

Members:

Dr. M. Parente (research grant) 

Members of other units:

Dr. C. Benelli, Dr. D. La Cecilia, Dr. M. Giaccone, Dr. P. Lomagno, Fr. P. Pizzaballa, Dr. T. Saltini

Partners:

Order of Pharmacists of Turin, Italy

Sponsors:

Association of Terra Santa

City of Turin

Consulate General of Italy

Custodia Terra Sancta 

Description:

The Museum, a project of high historical and symbolic value, wants to show the origins of Christianity in the Holy Land and the work of the Franciscans in the holy places (Israel, Palestine and neighboring regions) from the time of St. Francis to the present day. The renewed Terra Sancta Museum presents a collection of over 400 majolica used as packaging for pharmaceutical preparations set up in the Franciscan Pharmacy during the 17^th and 18^th century. The heart of the project is given by the exposition of the archaeological collections and historical art objects that the Franciscans of the Holy Land have recovered from archaeological excavations on-site or received as a gift from pilgrims over the centuries. The goal of this project is to promote the encounter between different cultures and religions - Christian, Muslim, Jewish, the secular world - and support the cultural and economic development and local communities.

The scientific aims of the part of the project related to the Franciscan Pharmacy is an analysis of the preparations, contained in various majolica, more used during the time of maximum activity of the St. Saviour Pharmacy in Jerusalem. This study will be done in part in the laboratories of the University of Turin through the analysis of the substances contained in the different pharmaceutical forms presented in the text "Ceramics and Pharmacy of St. Savior in Jerusalem" by G. Farris and A. Storme and partly in the Holy Land consulting the writings present in the Historical Archive of the Custody of Terra Sancta.

Successively the aim is to carry out a feasibility study to prepare in Jerusalem some of these pharmaceutical forms by substituting the substances used in the past nowadays recognized as toxic. 

Keywords: International cooperation, development of the area, pottery, ancient pharmacies, museum, interactive lab.