Acta Pharm. 50 (2000) 339-345

Speciarii and aromatarii of Croatian origin in the 15^th and 16^th century Venice:
Examples of testaments from the Venetian Historical Archives

TATJANA BUKLIJAS^1*  and  LOVORKA CORALIC²

¹Department of History of Medical Sciences, Institute of History and Philosophy of Science,
Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb, Croatia
²Croatian Institute of History, Zagreb, Croatia

Six testaments of Venetian speciarii and aromatarii (pharmacists) of Croatian origin, kept in the Venetian Historical Archives, dating from 1472 to 1591, are presented. The paper brings forward some elements of everyday life of apothecaries, such as their wealth, family ties, place of origin, religious practices, in the wider context of the life of Croatian immigrant community in Venice.

Keywords: history of pharmacy, Croatian pharmacists (speciarii and aromatarii), 15^th and 16^th century Venice