Balearics honour first woman pharmacist in Ciutadella
The former Farmacia Llabrés in Ciutadella, Menorca, opened to the public on Friday as the Balearic Islands marked Catalina Llabrés’ place in history. She became the islands’ first woman pharmacist after qualifying in pharmacy and worked at the pharmacy from 1926 to 1985.
The Official College of Pharmacists of the Balearic Islands held the event for World Pharmacists Day and to mark the centenary of Llabrés’ professional career. Born in Ciutadella in 1901, she was known as Señora Nina and belonged to an early generation of Balearic women to reach higher education.
After finishing secondary school in 1919, Llabrés gained her pharmacy degree. The College also used the occasion to highlight the support pharmacies give patients who struggle to take medicines as prescribed.
The old pharmacy remains a landmark in Ciutadella for its Art Nouveau design, shaped by French and Catalan modernist influences. Original fittings survive inside, including screens from the former laboratory with coloured glass and floral patterns.
The building was given protected cultural status in 2009. After Llabrés’ son and heir, Joan Ignasi Balada, died that year and left the property to the Royal Household, the Hesperia Foundation led its restoration. With the original stained-glass panels recovered, the former pharmacy is now on loan to the Foundation for People with Disabilities of Menorca.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com