Pharmaceutical Origin of Eau de Cologne

In 1714, in the city of Cologne, appeared, with great success, a perfumed “eau” based on scents of flowers and citrus fruits, which over time has been known by the generic name of "Eau de Cologne. "

Appreciated by the purity of his notes, the original formula, with slight alterations, remains in force, and is undoubtedly the most universal of fragrances.
But the real source of the eau de cologne is the pharmacy of the convent of Santa Maria Novella in Florence.
Indeed, in this wonderful pharmacy still exists with the name "Officina Profumo Farmaceutica". There, according to historian Jean Hadorn, a formula with which the nuns of the convent pharmacy prepared from the fourteenth century a product called "Acqua de la Regina" which won fame throughout Europe.
In the early eighteenth century a pharmacist named Giovanni Paolo Feminis, having learned the secret of the composition, moved to the city of Cologne, where he established his pharmacy in 1714 and launched its version of the florentine formula. Other similar preparations came, leading to a real explosion of "Eaux" that led to a generic name "Eau de Cologne".