Three magnificent unknown state-of-the-art discoveries

The Moscow Metro is Josef Stalin's nunderground fine arts museum -- Metro_MSK_Line5_Novoslobodskaya

(Photo: Alex 'Florstein' Fedorov -- Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license)

EUROPE  — Stroll around any city in the world and if you see something appealing go in and check it out. You might be surprised at what you find.

Europe, in particular, is filled with such treasures that can pop up in the most unlikely places. Here are three great examples.

Entrance hall to Zurich, Switzerland's main police station, designed by Augusto Giacometti (Courtesy: Switerland Tourism)

Blüemlihalle (flower hall), Zurich: It's difficult to dispute that the world's most beautiful police station entrance hall can be found in Zurich, Switzerland.

When the city's municipal architect, Gustav Gull, was given the assignment to convert an orphanage into a building that would house the city police station, he preserved the vaulted ceiling of the former cellar. In order to save space, he transformed into the entrance hall.

At first, light was a problem
(Courtesy: Switzerland Tourism)

Despite the architectural splendor of the site, lighting conditions turned out to be an unanticipated problem. Enter Augusto Giacometti, a distant relation to the internationally famous Giacometti family of artists from Val Bregaglia.

Accepting a commission from Gull, Giacometti took up the challenge to create a more vibrant environment between 1923 and 1925.

Giacometti wanted warm floral
colors (Courtesy: Switzerland
Tourism)

Using warm colors to create floral images, the result of Giacometti's inspiration has become a national treasure. The masterpiece, is today known to locals as the "Blüemlihalle" thanks to its majestic array of botanical depictions.

Augusto Giacometti is perhaps best known for the choral windows in the Grossmuster (1933) as well as the Fraumunster's stained glass window (1945) but the police station is unique.

The flower hall is located on Bahnhofquai in Zurich near the train station and is open to the public  (Courtesy: Switzerland Tourism)

Located on Bahnhofquai in Zurich, the flower hall is open to the public daily from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m.

Of course, the other option is to get yourself arrested.

Many of Moscow's metro stations are art museums in their own right  (Photo: Punxutawneyphil and the architects Л. В. Лилье, В. А. Литвинов, М. Ф. Марковский, В. М. Доброковский -- licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license)

Moscow Metro, Russia: It's a good bet you never thought a subway would be an artistic and architectural museum, but it's one you would lose.

During the Depression, Russia's Josef Stalin decided to impress the world with his country’s technology, industrialization and art by demonstrating the superiority of socialism.

The metro was Stalin's canvas
(Photo: Alex 'Florstein' Fedorov -
licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution-Share
Alike 4.0 International license)

The Moscow metro became Stalin's canvas and by incorporating elegant chandeliers, friezes, marble archways, bronze statues, stained glass windows and bas-reliefs, each metro station became unique.

The earliest stations are perhaps the most ornate and eclectic because of the intensity with which Stalin sought completion. Among the artistic depictions are representations featuring particularly Soviet cultural themes such as sports, industry, agriculture, history and, of course, the Revolution.

Mayakovskaya Metro Station, Moscow  (Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissenlicensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license)

Stalin called his stations “people’s palaces” due to their elaborate artistic and architectural designs.  As the largest civilian construction project in the history of the USSR, the first 13 stations, which opened in 1935, are the primary locations to visit because of Stalin's personal commitment.

Among the most beautiful, and perhaps the most famous, is Mayakovskaya which opened in 1938. Dedicated to the Russian poet Vladimir Maykovsky, it is one of the deepest stations in the city because it was also designed for use as a bomb shelter.

Stalin's "People Palaces"
(Photo:  A.Savin --Wikimedia Commons
WikiPhotoSpace)

Believe it or not, another metro system, called Metro 2, was created beneath the one being used today as an escape route for high government officials.

Once the project was halted, stations became more functional and traditional, so do not expect to see a "museum" at every stop.

Though many stations are magnificent, rolling stock can be quite old, so do not expect stations to be quiet.

The best time to ride without crowds is between noon and 2 p.m. and be alert for pick-pockets.

The Church of Santa Maria Novella is in a piazza near the
pharmacy  (Photo: Jebulon -- available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication)

Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella. Florence: On a quiet street, far from the madding crowds in the center of Florence, Italy, a tiny piece of heaven nestles hidden among the myriad of buildings that line the avenue.

Farmacia Santa Maria Novella is medicine for the soul
(Photo: Sailko -- licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license)

Even when translated OfficinaProfumo, offers little description for non-Italian speaking travelers because the words “Office of Perfume” don’t even begin to do it justice.

Officina Profumo, is one of the world’s oldest pharmacies dating to the year 1221. Founded by Dominican friars who began making herbal remedies and perfumes for their monastery nearly, it took 400 years for the pharmacy to gain international public recognition.

Thanks to the sponsorship of the Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1612, the world learned about Santa Maria Novella’s vast range of products. Even today the potpourri is popular around the globe and continues to be produced in huge terra cotta vats using traditional essences and plants that are the same as those in the 13th century.

Like its name, and its reputation, Officina Profumo must be sought after to be enjoyed. Even when you know the address at Via della Scala 16, it's easy to walk past it if you are not observant. In fact, you may even be standing at the front door and not realize you are there.

Peer through the windows to view a long, dark corridor that gives the illusion of emptiness even when the pharmacy is open for business.

Be bold. Enter and make your way down the dimly lit hallway that suddenly reveals itself into the Sistine Chapel of Perfume.  

Officina Profumo is an 800 year old Italian (Photo: Sailko -- licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license)"soap opera"

Each Officina Profumo product has a story, and there are many. The precious Acqua della Regina perfume, for example, was originally created for Catherine de Medici, the Queen of France in the 1500s. Known as “Water of the Queen”, Catherine made it popular throughout France. 

Nearly 300 years later, it become the first “Eau de Cologne” in history when Giovanni Feminis took it, and the recipe, with him to Cologne, Germany and renamed it “Acqua di Cologne” in tribute to the city where it was produced.

No matter. The original formula from the days of Catherine de Medici was preserved, and if you simply purchase a product called “Santa Maria Novella” you will be buying the pharmacy’s signature fragrance.

Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella is not to be rushed. You are surrounded by soaps, balms, medications, perfumes and aromas all magnificently displayed beneath Renaissance arches and frescoed ceilings. You have entered a pharmacy of the soul.

You see, Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella is proof positive that sometimes traveling just makes good "scents."