Pharmacy Lab Foletto's Museum

Coils, pestles and mortars and other lab equipment - A tradition as seen through its implements

On display in this museum you can find some equipment and implements which tell the story of the Foletto laboratory, dating from the early 20th century. This lab, set up and managed next to the adjacent pharmacy business was a veritable pharmaceutical plant in those pioneering years, albeit on a small scale. The output of the facility was varied and plentiful, ranging from injectable phials to fruit syrups by way of many registered medicinal specialities. But two world wars and changing times saw much of the lab equipment fall into disuse, giving way to the industrial products of the present day. The Foletto pharmacists continue to produce their syrups and liquors with the same care and professionalism they have shown for over a century (which you can kind find on the products pages of this site). We invite you to visit this little museum, which enshrines affection and nostalgia for genuinely handmade things, for a ‘taste' of times past and present.
In full view of the entrance to the museum can be seen a mortar dating back to the 18th century, made up of a number types of stone used for different purposes, while the glass display cases hold phials, coils, sterilisers and balances, including one used to weigh poisonous substances which is equipped with anti-corrosion plates made of bone for this specific purpose. The hall of the museum also houses a range of curious technical devices: one for cutting and rolling gauze, one for producing pills and another for filling tubes with tooth paste or other substances.