Review from Heather Dewhurst – www.kitchenwitchhearth.net

An enchanting work bringing together the authors passion with the source material, to give the reader an academic work which is accessible to all learners with an interest in herbs and plants.

Comprised of four parts, in the first Angela Paine explains her inspiration for this book, together with the history of the Medici family in Florence, describing how she came to know about them. Parts two and three then supply the reader with a small selection of those herbs and plants that are still used today. As the author points out, in the original works over 200 herbs are mentioned, although if I have understood correctly, in the translations just over 100 are documented, as some cannot be adequately identified. Even with 100, this book would not have been as available to so many. The author has achieved wider accessibility by supplying very detailed information on their use today, their chemistry and healing properties, together with research that has been carried out on the included thirty one. Part four is a brief mention of the poisonous plants used during this period of history.

The numerous references (48 pages in total) used throughout this book are listed, enabling the reader to take a deeper exploration of any content which stimulates their interest.

Healing Plants of Renaissance Florence by Angela Paine

The Renaissance was a period of unparalleled beauty, excitement, and interest in Florence, despite frequent plagues and wars, thanks in large part to the presence of the Medici family, who virtually invented modern banking and accountancy. They were outstanding as enlightened and successful patrons of art, architecture, science, philosophy, and above all, every aspect of plant medicine. They collected medicinal and rare plants and created large botanic gardens, which are still there today. The Medici patronage of the University of Pisa, Cosimo I’s creation of the chair of simples (medicinal plants), and his employment of Luca Ghini revolutionised how herbal medicine was taught. 

This book traces the development of the first hospital and academic medicinal plant garden in Florence, under the guidance of the great Cosimo I de Medici, and looks at the plants he and his sons used in their alchemical laboratories to create herbal medicines. A selection of these plants is investigated in detail, looking at how they can be used today, including their chemistry and healing properties, as well as research that has been carried out on them.

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