Carrer d’en Palau, 42
The scent of herbs floods the Carrer d’En Palau. Sweet chamomile to improve digestion, tea to fight colds or tea tree to kill lice. The historical tradition of the medicine men remains strong in Mataró with this establishment, which despite the different changes of location, has retained its original spirit.
Its history begins in 1926, when Mr. Fèlix Giralt i Guasch opened the business in a shop on Ronda Prim and called it La Argentina, in honour of the country where he had lived for six years. After the Civil War, the herbalist shop moved to Carrer Sant Benet. It is said that the place had a mysterious air. There were jars with snakes dipped in formalin and two pelicans made of papier mâché.
Fèlix Giralt sold all the furniture and the contents of the herbalist’s to Mrs. María Luisa de Palau, an antiquarian, who set it up again in 1965 on Carrer d’en Palau, a few doors down from where it is now. It didn’t open in its present location until 1984. Despite the changes, the original green-painted furniture, the counter top, cabinets, shelves, and jars have remained. In fact, overlooking everything from the top of a cabinet, there is still one of the papier mâché pelicans.
