Aboca Museum: Where Art Meets Medicinal Plants in Sansepolcro

The Aboca Museum in Sansepolcro, Italy, blends art and medicinal plants, housed in the Renaissance Palazzo Bourbon del Monte. Founded in 2002 by healthcare company Aboca, the museum explores the millennia-old relationship between humans and medicinal herbs. Its collection includes 2,500 ancient texts from the 16th to 20th centuries, along with ceramics, mortars, and pharmacy equipment. The museum features a reconstructed spezieria, phytochemical lab, poison room, and 19th-century pharmacy. In 2021, it launched the interactive Aboca Experience, covering the production chain. The Arte Orto project connects botanical art with nature, collaborating with Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, Palazzo Vecchio and Giardino dei Semplici in Florence, and Castello Bufalini in San Giustino. The museum attracts 14,000 annual visitors pre-pandemic, including professionals, history enthusiasts, and children. Director Anna Zita Di Carlo credits founder Valentino Mercati's passion for the museum's creation. Aboca, a B Corp since 2019, also runs Aboca Edizioni and a research center studying ancient texts for new product development.