In 1570 Petrus de Corvis became a member of the Association of Apothecaries of Piacenza; five years later he was appointed by a society which helped the poor to run the Apothecary, which provided free medicines for the sick and needy.

The Corvi Pharmacy dates back to 1715, when a first master Antonio was elected member of the “College of Apothecaries” of the town.

The pharmacy moved premises several times, then Antonio’s grandson purchased a number of properties near San Michele from the nuns of the order of Saint Raymond and built a house with space for a pharmacy and general store.

The original early nineteenth-century structure and furnishings of the shop have survived; the shop fittings are neoclassic and the magnificent counter is from the Augustinian Fathers’ monastery which was closed by Napoleon.

The majority of the jars, in the style of Ginori, were commissioned by Luigi Corvi (1835 - 1908). After the Second War of Independence, when he served under Nino Bixio as a Hunter of the Alps, he requested the jars be decorated with a scroll edged with the colours of the Italian flag.

Under the direction of his son Antonio, the laboratory was enlarged to enable production of numerous special preparations (anti-anaemic pills, ‘Pectoralbion’, lichen lozenges etc.) which were used widely throughout the province until regulations for registration were introduced.

The current owner of the pharmacy, Antonio, represents the ninth generation of the family, continuing the tradition of the eldest child taking over the business, which dates back to the beginning of the 18th century.