• Italy: Ciao Bella
    The historical garden maintains its original layout ... a parterred square within a circle.
    At the center of the historical garden ... museum and Goethe's Palm in the background.Known as Goethe's Palm, this dwarf palm is the oldest plant at Orto Botanico (planted in 1585).Historic home of the garden's director (17th-18th century) ... Orto Botanico — Padova, Italy.The historic building now houses the botanical museum and theater, and the archives and library.1Prickly pear cactus ... Orto Botanico — Padova, Italy.Flowering dogwood @ Orto Botanico — Padova, Italy.Flowering plants ... a pop of color ... Orto Botanico — Padova, Italy.Red alga specimens from the 1800s; used in food preparation ... Botanical Museum @ Orto Botanico.Giovanni Bonazza's "Teofrasto" (c. 1710); the philosopher is considered the father of botany.The historical ice house ... Orto Botanico — Padova, Italy.Blooming cacti ... Orto Botanico — Padova, Italy.Basilica of Santa Giustina ... from the path to the Biodiversity Garden ... Orto Botanico — Padova.Basilica of Santa Giustina reflected in the lily pond at the Biodiversity Garden ... Orto Botanico.Biodiversity Garden ... Orto Botanico — Padova, Italy.Lily pond at the Biodiversity Garden ... Orto Botanico — Padova, Italy.Mickey Mouse Plant @ the Biodiversity Garden ... Orto Botanico — Padova, Italy.Reproduction of the fossil palm Latanites maximiliani De Visiani (1867) ... Orto Botanico.Panel showing the original layout and the way it was set up ... Orto Botanico.L to R: Rubber (Amazon); Cotton ("Blues" plant from Mississippi); Hemp (once known as green gold).Pollinators ... including a Colorado Beetle (bottom right) ... Orto Botanico.Natural amber with inclusion of winged ants & Diptera (25 million years old) ... Orto Botanico.Wooden mask w/carved crocs and bird; surrounded by plant fibers and cowrie shells — Eastern Sepik.Dragon made with bamboo strips ... from China ... Orto Botanico.Sound box: hollow wood covered w/leather; neck decorated w/engraved bone (from Afghanistan).

    Padova: Orto Botanico 1545

    April 24 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    “Nature creates new forms without end” … an idea explored by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in his “Aphorisms on Nature.”

    The Botanical Garden of Padova is the oldest university botanical garden in the world. Yes, the number in the title of this footprint — 1545 — refers to the date the garden was established.

    A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Orto Botanico continues to serve its original purpose as a center for scientific research … from the same spot where it was founded centuries ago. It still preserves its original layout, which consists of a square within a circle … the latter said to represent the world. Today, the historical garden is supplemented with the Biodiversity Garden and the Botanical Museum, and visitors “… can view 6,000 plants, and travel through five centuries of history, across five continents.”

    We had a beautiful day to visit the botanical garden, which we chose with the expectation that it would provide a peaceful setting for a ‘nature meander’ in the city.

    You can imagine our dismay when we neared the entrance gate to find the street leading to the gates jam-packed with people … mostly large student groups. It would be one thing if the students were actually interested in what they were here to visit. Admittedly, some were … but as we would be seeing when we encountered them around the grounds, the majority just saw it as a way to escape the classroom.

    The good news? We already had our admission tickets in hand. We were immediately scanned through to the grounds, while most everyone else was shunted off toward the ticket office. The first to enter the garden, we had the place to ourselves for a while at least.

    This is the second university-associated Orto Botanico we’ve visited in Italy. The first one was in Bologna … and it was a bit of a disappointment. Not the case with this garden. Extensive, well maintained grounds; flowering plants adding pops of color; historic 9th century greenhouses filled with plants; a series of new greenhouses offering a journey through different climate zones … while at the same time providing information with well designed panels and mini displays showing how plants enter our lives in many forms; and a museum showcasing specimens collected through the ages.

    An excellent start to our second day of exploring Padova.    Read more