L’alitta dal γυμνάσιον alla spezieria

In Italian language there are two words, alitta and alipta, derived from the same latin etymon ALIPTA, shaped on gr. ἀλείπτης ‘who anoint’; however, the two terms have different categories and meanings: alitta (f.) ‘mixture of aromatic substances’ and alipta (m.) ‘who anoint’. The story of ‘alipta’ is traced from ancient Greece until contemporary age – through the middle ages – to clarify the passages that have determined the independent origin of the two terms in the Italian language.