Institute for the Preservation of Medical Traditions

04/05/2026

The 13th Conference on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Southeast European Countries (CMAPSEEC 2026) will take place 28–30 October 2026 in Shkodër, Albania.
CMAPSEEC is an established international scientific forum that brings together researchers, academics, and industry experts working on biodiversity, phytochemistry, cultivation, and value chains of medicinal and aromatic plants, providing an excellent platform for scientific exchange and international collaboration.
More details here:

Welcome to the 13th Conference on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Southeast European Countries (CMAPSEEC 2026), which will take place from 28 to 30 October 2026 in Albania.

03/31/2026

Luiza F A de Paula, Rhian J Smith, Vanessa Handley, Tiago P Gomes, Raphael Ocelli Pinheiro, Alexandre Antonelli, Peggy L Fiedler, 𝘽𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨: 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮, BioScience, 2026,
https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biag014
From the Abstract:
Since the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992), international frameworks have emphasized benefit-sharing and private-sector engagement in conservation, a call reinforced by the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (2022). Yet biodiversity continues to decline, highlighting the need for funding models that effectively link commerce with conservation. Here, we examine how the fragrance industry—a sector deeply dependent on plant diversity and cultural value chains—can contribute more meaningfully to global plant conservation. Drawing on international policy frameworks, published literature, and illustrative conservation–industry partnerships, we assess mechanisms through which fragrance-related initiatives support biodiversity protection, accountability, and culturally grounded conservation narratives.

Abstract. Since the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992), international frameworks have emphasized benefit-sharing and private-sector engagement in co

03/28/2026

A new publication:
𝗙𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗼 𝗕𝗶𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶, 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝘀 (eds), 𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣'𝙨 𝙍𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙈𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙙. 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙨 (1400-1750), Palgrave Macmillan/Springer Nature, 2026.

“Surviving the demise of his humoral pathology and anatomy, ’s works on simple and compound remedies (the so-called ‘galenicals’) formed the backbone of up until the Industrial Revolution. Over its long and multicultural tradition—spanning the and , through societies, , and , to the and even — evolved to incorporate new remedies, foods, philosophical rationales, and modes of preparation, including chemical ones. Despite its endurance, a systematic exploration of the use of galenicals beyond the Renaissance remains overdue.
Addressing this gap, the contributions in this volume bring together leading scholars who illuminate how this medical tradition unfolded in the early modern period and its underlying dynamics, often drawing on new or overlooked archival material. Challenging the prevailing narrative of decline, they examine how pharmacological knowledge was transmitted across languages and medical traditions.”
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-00725-4

03/26/2026

Taking advantage of being back home in Washington DC, these days we are analyzing the plant images of the so-called “Vienna Dioscorides”, a 6th-century Byzantine illuminated manuscript of De Materia Medica, preserved at the National Library of Vienna, Austria. It is the oldest surviving illustrated copy of Dioscorides' work, a vital source for classical science, recognized by UNESCO as a Memory of the World Document. The facsimile is currently on view at the Center for Hellenic Studies. We are grateful for the opportunity!🤩

03/22/2026

It’s with great pleasure that we share the news of the launching of 𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙪𝙨, the new platform on Greek Medical Manuscripts built by a dedicated team of the Center for Hellenic Studies and our own 𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐞 and 𝐄𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢, who spent the past three years gathering the documentation and developing the different sections. 👏👏👏

Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece, Harvard University
Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη της Ελλάδος - National Library of Greece
ΑΚΑΔΗΜΙΑ ΑΡΧΑΙΑΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΡΑΔΟΣΙΑΚΗΣ ΚΙΝΕΖΙΚΗΣ ΙΑΤΡΙΚΗΣ
History of Pharmacy - Gatton College of Pharmacy
Constantinos Grivas
Lloyd Library and Museum
Forschergruppe Klostermedizin
The Greek Herald
Greek Reporter
American Institute of the History of Pharmacy
International Society for the History of Pharmacy
Hellenic News of America
Εθνικό Iδρυμα Ερευνών/National Hellenic Research Foundation
Ελληνικός Σύλλογος Βελονισμού & Κινέζικης Ιατρικής
SISUMed-Società Italiana di Scienze Umane in Medicina
Société tunisienne d'Histoire de la Médecine et de la Pharmacie

MediManus - the CHS Platform of Medical Manuscripts

03/20/2026

Discover how modern science helps bring the lost scents of Arabia Felix back to life.

In her plenary lecture, Dr Barbara Huber, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, explores the diversity, medicinal applications, and ritual significance of aromatic substances in ancient Arabia through the lens of biomolecular archaeology. Her talk highlights how residue analysis and interdisciplinary approaches allow us to reconstruct past sensory experiences and better understand their cultural context.

🎥 The recording is now available: https://youtu.be/rbvZdKihx1I

Discover how modern science helps bring the lost scents of Arabia Felix back to life.

In her plenary lecture, Dr Barbara Huber explores the diversity, medicinal applications, and ritual significance of aromatic substances in ancient Arabia through the lens of biomolecular archaeology. Her talk highlights how residue analysis and interdisciplinary approaches allow us to reconstruct past sensory experiences and better understand their cultural context.

🎥 The recording is now available – link to the playlist in the comments.
🔁 Please feel free to share.

03/16/2026

The ISHP, in collaboration with the Austrian Society for the History of Pharmacy and the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Innsbruck, proudly presents this jubilee congress. It will be held from September 2 to 5, 2026, in picturesque Innsbruck, Austria, to celebrate 100 years since ISHP’s founding in 1926. This congress is a glorious homage to the founding of the ISHP in 1926, honoring the legacy of its founding fathers, especially Ludwig Winkler (1926), and his great-grandson Dr. Andreas Winkler, initiator of this centennial event.

The main theme, "DRUGS AND MEDICINE OF THE MOUNTAINS," will be explored through keynote lectures, discussions, and presentations. Contributions on related historical, cultural, and scientific aspects are highly encouraged.

Willkommen zum 47. Internationalen Kongress für Geschichte der Pharmazie in Innsbruck. Feiern Sie mit uns das 100-jährige Bestehen der ISHP. Registrieren Sie sich jetzt für den Kongress und buchen Sie Ihr Ticket sowie Hotelunterkünfte.

03/15/2026

A new article brought to you by Centre for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance - CSMBR, Pisa:

𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐄. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝’𝐎𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐚 (𝐜. 𝟏𝟒𝟔𝟎–𝟏𝟓𝟑𝟏) 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 '𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐢', by Álvaro Basols Berges, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
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This new contribution examines the role of geographical mobility in the formation of medical careers in early modern Europe.

Through the case of the Catalan physician Pere d’Olesa (c. 1460-1530), Álvaro Basols Berges reconstructs how students and practitioners moved between major academic centres across the Mediterranean, especially between the Iberian Peninsula and Italian universities seeking professional advancement. Physicians training abroad cultivated networks of patrons and teachers, and used their itinerant careers to secure positions at courts or universities.
By tracing these movements, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲.
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𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰: https://csmbr.fondazionecomel.org/blog/forma-fluens/geographical-mobility-in-european-medicine/

03/07/2026

Friday 13 March, 2026, at 5:00pm CET

Free online presentation by Santiago Madriñán, professor at Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá), and Director of the Jardín Botánico de Cartagena, entitled “Caribbean Early Modern Botany: Jacquin’s expedition to the Americas 1754–1758.”
Zoom-link in the poster.
The session will be recorded and available afterwards in the website (under Past Events).
Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin’s 1754–1759 expedition to the was a pioneering, Austrian-sponsored botanical mission, establishing him as the first Linnaean scientist in the New World. He collected extensive flora and fauna, resulting in the foundational 1763 publication, “Selectarum stirpium americanarum historia”, documenting tropical biodiversity and economic resources.
The expedition was commissioned by Emperor Francis I of Austria to collect tropical plants for the Imperial gardens in Vienna. Jacquin (1727–1817) was a Dutch-born scientist who utilized Linnaean taxonomy to classify New World plants, making his work a crucial bridge in early modern botany. While focusing on the Caribbean, the expedition involved detailed, illustrated surveys of flora and fauna, including in , where he mapped plantations and vegetation. The work produced over 100 paintings of plants and animals, providing a mix of naturalism and scientific detail.
The findings were published in “Selectarum stirpium americanarum historia” (1763), with a luxurious second edition following in 1780, which is highly regarded for its botanical accuracy.

More information about the Project
Early Modern Botanical Knowledge:
https://earlymodernbotany.wixsite.com/home

03/02/2026

𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 𝘽𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝, 𝘽𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
On view Until 19 Apr 2026
Free admission
Wellcome Collection, London, England

𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 𝘽𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝, 𝘽𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 looks at the protective practices and beliefs around , and that existed in medieval times and continue through to today. Alongside the medieval scroll are other historical works from our collections, including three 18th-19th century manuscripts that feature blessings for love, fertility and pregnancy.
At the heart of the display is a parchment scroll (MS.632) produced in England around 1500 CE. Christian prayers and religious illustrations cover the parchment’s entire 3-metre length, which could be wrapped around the body for protection during childbirth and at other moments of danger.
https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/expecting-birth-belief-and-protection

02/27/2026

Opening on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at the Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia:

“Revolutionary Botany. The College of Physicians and the Origins of American Pharmacy", a special exhibition that examines the origins of the American pharmacy and American botanical medicine. Visit "Revolutionary Botany" to explore how the Linnaean revolution transformed medical practice, as colonial botanists and physicians shared knowledge of new medicinal plants found in America.

Learn more and plan your visit:

"Revolutionary Botany," a special exhibition at the Mütter Museum, examines the origins of the American pharmacy and American botanical medicine.

02/23/2026

CSMBR Online Lecture Series

𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓
𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
Tommaso De Robertis, University of Macerata, Italy
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To register for this event: https://csmbr.fondazionecomel.org/events/online-lectures/science-in-print/
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The reception and transmission of John Philoponus’s work constitute a remarkable chapter in the history of Aristotelian exegesis and its Renaissance revival. Long known only through indirect quotations and Arabic intermediaries, Philoponus’s radical critique of Aristotelian natural philosophy entered the Latin world piecemeal and belatedly. It was only in the fifteenth century, with the recovery of Greek manuscripts by Italian humanists and Byzantine émigrés, that European scholars could engage directly with his work. The subsequent decades witnessed not only the edition and dissemination of the Greek text, but also its transformation through printing and translation – processes that redefined Philoponus’s position within the intellectual landscape of early modern Europe.

CSMBR Online Lecture Series

𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓
𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
Tommaso De Robertis
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To register for this event: https://csmbr.fondazionecomel.org/events/online-lectures/science-in-print/
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The reception and transmission of John Philoponus’s work constitute a remarkable chapter in the history of Aristotelian exegesis and its Renaissance revival. Long known only through indirect quotations and Arabic intermediaries, Philoponus’s radical critique of Aristotelian natural philosophy entered the Latin world piecemeal and belatedly. It was only in the fifteenth century, with the recovery of Greek manuscripts by Italian humanists and Byzantine émigrés, that European scholars could engage directly with his work. The subsequent decades witnessed not only the edition and dissemination of the Greek text, but also its transformation through printing and translation – processes that redefined Philoponus’s position within the intellectual landscape of early modern Europe.

Focusing on his commentary on Aristotle’s Physics, this lecture will examine both the recovery of the Greek text and its later diffusion through Latin translation, tracing the material and intellectual pathways that brought Philoponus’s commentary from the lands of Byzantium to Florence, Venice, and beyond. This lecture will first reconstruct the manuscript tradition, surveying the principal codices, their provenance, and the networks of scholars and collectors responsible for their recovery and circulation. It will then explore the two sixteenth-century Latin translations of the work, produced, respectively, by Guglielmo Doroteo (1539) and Giovanni Battista Rasario (1558). In doing so, it highlights the complex interplay between philological accuracy, editorial ambition, and scholarly forgery that characterised the humanist engagement with Philoponus’s work.
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