Perhaps the Coca Cola recipe was born in Florence

The friars' Coca-Cola recipe resurfaced during the reorganization of the convent's historical archives. The convent's pharmacy served to support the neighborhood's poor; the elixir was considered a support for a weary body and mind. Records from the period confirm that this elixir was one of the most sought-after products by those who turned to the friars' apothecary for medicines.

Here's the original Coca Cola recipe (maybe)

For over a century, the Coca-Cola formula has been protected as one of the world's most famous trade secrets. The Coca-Cola Company never patented the recipe precisely to prevent it from becoming public knowledge upon its expiration. Instead, it chose to maintain trade secrecy, a strategy it had already adopted in the late 19th century, after the beverage's launch in 1886. The complete formula, known as Merchandise 7X, is accessible only to a very limited number of executives and technicians bound by strict confidentiality agreements; the ingredients are also produced and blended in separate facilities, ensuring that no employee can know their full composition. Even the famous Atlanta vault, where the recipe is symbolically stored, contributes to the myth of one of the food industry's best-kept secrets.

The Florentine friars' formula, however, may contain numerous clues and is much simpler than one might imagine. The leaflet found by Father Manuel Russo describes a "restorative wine elixir" prepared with 10 grams of Bolivian coca leaves, 30 grams of kola nuts, and a base of wine and alcohol. In the 19th century, both coca and kola were commonly used in European pharmacopoeia as tonics against physical and mental fatigue, well before coca was banned internationally. It is precisely this combination of coca leaves and kola nuts that recalls the recipe developed in 1886 by Atlanta pharmacist John Stith Pemberton, named Pemberton's French Wine Coca, which would later give rise to Coca-Cola after the elimination of wine due to alcohol restrictions and, subsequently, the coca alkaloid.

The original Coca-Cola recipe contained wine, coca leaf extract, and kola nut, but it was modified a few months later to comply with the Prohibition movement that banned the sale of alcoholic beverages: the wine was eliminated, and thus the non-alcoholic version was born, destined to become Coca-Cola. In the following years, the coca leaf extract was also replaced with a decocainized version, following changes in US regulations.

If you want to try making a homemade version, know that it is believed that in addition to these ingredients there are many infused spices: cinnamon, coriander and nutmeg as well as orange and lemon zest.