Professor Ugo Schiff (1834-1915), founder of the Florentine school of chemistry and one of the leading exponents of the Italian scientific world of the late nineteenth century, came to Florence in 1864 believing this city historically important, not only for science but also for the development a general knowledge of which science is an integral part.In Florence, Cosimo the Elder (1389-1464) had it translated into Latin and then in the vernacular the Corpus Hermeticum of Hermes Trismegistus, alchemical text and precursor chemical sciences.
The Apothecary Guild at the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova was very powerful alongside the eponymous Apothecary, where alchemical, herbal, chemical and pharmaceutical knowledge intertwined. Well known is the famous Florentine Recipe Book, exhibited here,which was used for many centuries for the preparation of medicaments including the renowned "Triaca" composed of 60 simple medicinal substances of vegetable, animal and mineral origin. A copy of the Recipe Book, dated 1696, was part of Ugo Schiff's belongings.
The Library of the Science Campusholds the Schiff Collection that includes monographs, journals, miscellaneous and some theses, with the oldest part dating back to the Royal School of Physical and Natural Sciences of 1807. The precious Schiff correspondence is kept instead at the Chemistry Section of the Museum of Natural History. As part of this exhibition are presented the handouts of Ugo Schiff's lectures during academic year 1896-1897, collected by the student Guido Franceschini, and a text of 1719 describing the chemical laboratory of the city of Altdorf.
