Orto Botanico dell'Università di Siena, Botanical garden and natural history museum in Siena, Italy
The Botanical Garden of the University of Siena is a facility covering over two hectares within medieval walls, where plants are organized systematically in beds according to their origin and use. Three modern greenhouses house tropical species, tender shrubs, and special collections such as carnivorous plants and Mediterranean citrus fruits.
The facility was established in 1588 to study and cultivate medicinal plants for medical purposes. It was relocated to its current location within the city in 1856 and officially opened in 1866 as part of the university.
The garden preserves a living collection of healing plants that have been used in traditional medicine for centuries. Visitors can see today which plants doctors and pharmacists once relied on to treat illness.
The garden lies near Porta Tufi inside Siena's walls, at Via P. A. Mattioli 4, on a slope of the Sant'Agostino valley. Enter through the street entrance opened in 1866, marked by two basins of aquatic plants. The slope is divided into three sectors, the "scuola" terraces, the "parco" and the lower "podere", so expect uphill walking between them.
The garden keeps its own journal, the Bullettino del Laboratorio ed Orto Botanico dell'Università di Siena. Its first published plant record, the Seminum Index Siena, listed about 900 species, several hundred of them from outside Italy. The entrance on Via Mattioli, opened in 1866, is flanked by two basins of aquatic plants.
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