Villacidro, Farmamuseo Sa Potecaria

Until not long ago, the elderly Villacidresi used two ancient words from the Sardinian language, but of Greek origin, 'potecàriu' and 'potecarìa' to talk about the pharmacist and the pharmacy, and from this the Museum takes its name. In the rooms of the Farmamuseo, obtained by renovating the old building of the “Lussu house”, there is a very rich collection of furniture, appliances and pharmacist's tools, dating back to between the 19th and 20th centuries, evidence of how our fathers and grandparents cared for themselves. The original nucleus of this collection consists of the objects that belonged to the old pharmacy opened in 1905 by Mr. Luigi Mancosu and sold by his heirs, for sixty thousand pounds in 1928, to Dr. Nino Fanni di Guspini. After the sale, it was equipped with a small laboratory for galenic preparations and chemical analysis, which are part of the collection exhibited in the pharmamuseum. Unfortunately, a bomb attack, which took place on August 15, 1945, destroyed most of the valuable equipment. In a corner of the current pharmacy, an attempt has been made to rebuild the old Villacidrese potecaria using the original equipment and the old relics that survived the bomb, but also the new purchases made, around the world, by Dr. Nino Fanni, including the medicines distributed by the American Army during World War II and a hand-cranked electroshock instrument. Finally, there is also a small specialized library that contains ancient pharmacopoeia publications.

Why it is important to visit it
In the very interesting “Farmamuseo Sa Potecaria”, furniture, sanitary and pharmaceutical utensils, objects and equipment, belonging to a chronological period between 1600 and 1900, are preserved and exhibited, relating to the history of pharmacy and healthcare art in general.