Deleuze Isasi Pharmacy

Founded in 1780, in the era of Carlos III, as the Botica de San Bernardo, its back room was filled with men of science mixing their herbs and ointments. Highlights include the Baroquestyle interior decoration, which gives it an appearance more reminiscent of a palace than a pharmacy.

The rectangular space is occupied by six niches with Rococo-style decoration, containing remarkable medicine jars from Buen Retiro factory. The paintings on the walls and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling are in French style, while the back room, dating from the late 19th century, are in Art Deco style. In 1947, the proprietor, Alberto Deleuze, refurbished the façade to restore its original decoration, transforming one of its two doors into a shop window.

Its first known owner was Baltasar de Riego, painter and pharmacist. By then, writers like Espronceda and Ventura de la Vega met at the pharmacy for gatherings and as of 1861, when it was inherited by Juan Chicote, he organised debates in the back-room in which intellectuals from that era participated, ranging from doctors like Méndez Álvaro and Federico Rubio, to politicians like Castelar, Cristino Martos or Pi y Margall.