Overview
- Aged paper, original labels and empty bottles were found in the San Marco convent archive after rector Pater Manuel Russo began reviewing the monastery’s records.
- The flyer lists a wine‑based tonic made from 10 grams of Bolivian coca leaves and 30 grams of colanuts per liter, ingredients that match those used in Pemberton’s French Wine Coca.
- Historians date the item to the mid‑19th century, which would make it older than Pemberton’s 1886 formula, but experts say there is no documentary evidence that the Florence recipe reached or influenced Pemberton in Atlanta.
- Contemporary reporting began with the regional weekly Toscana Oggi and was quickly amplified by national and international outlets while The Coca‑Cola Company reiterated that its modern formula remains secret.
- Scholars note the find fits a wider 19th‑century pattern of coca‑based tonics circulating in Europe and say further provenance work and archival research are needed to assess any historical connections.