The Orto botanico di Pisa, also known as the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Pisa, is a
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
operated by the
University of Pisa, and located at via Luca Ghini 5,
Pisa
Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
, Italy.
The garden was established in 1544 under
Cosimo I de' Medici
Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second and last duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Cosimo I succeeded his cousin to the duchy. ...
as the first university botanical garden in Europe, and entrusted to the famous botanist
Luca Ghini of
Imola. In 1563 the garden was relocated from its original riverside location (now the Medicean Arsenal) to one near the convent of Santa Marta, and in 1591 (under
Joseph Goedenhuyze) again moved to its third and current location. From these early times, the garden has contained a gallery of natural objects (now Pisa's Museo di Storia Naturale), a library (now part of the university library), and portraits of its directors throughout the centuries. It also includes one of the earliest iron-framed hothouses built in Italy.
Today the garden is divided into sections containing the botanical school, gardens, ponds, greenhouses, and various buildings. Major collections include herb gardens and
arboreta, as well as the old botany institute, built 1591–1595, with a facade ornamented with sea-shells.
Gallery
File:Orto botanico di Pisa 2.jpg, Botanical school.
Image:Orto botanico di Pisa - school.JPG, Botanical school.
Image:Orto botanico di Pisa - old instiitute.JPG, Old institute building.
File:Orto botanico di Pisa 5.jpg, Pond
File:Paolo Savi statue - Orto botanico, Pisa, Italy.JPG, Monument to Italian naturalist Paolo Savi (1798-1871).
See also
*
List of botanical gardens in Italy
References
* Garbari F. et al., ''Giardino dei Semplici. L'Orto botanico di Pisa dal XVI al XX secolo'', Pisa 1991.
External links
*
1544 establishments in Italy
Botanical gardens in Italy
University of Pisa
Buildings and structures in Pisa
Gardens in Tuscany
Tourist attractions in Pisa
{{Italy-garden-stub