Orto Botanico Forestale dell'Abetone, Botanical garden and museum in Fontana Vaccaia, Abetone Cutigliano, Italy

The Orto Botanico Forestale dell'Abetone covers about 1.4 hectares between 1280 and 1308 metres in the upper Sestaione valley, at Acqua Bona near the Campolino nature reserve. It is divided into a forest area, siliceous and limestone rock areas, a wetland with a small pond, a blueberry ground and a mushroom trail. The only building inside is a small shelter used by guides and visitors.

The garden was conceived in the early 1980s and formally inaugurated on 11 July 1987, though landscaping work continued until the early 1990s. It is now part of the Ecomuseo della Montagna Pistoiese and is managed by a consortium of the Tuscany Region, the State Forestry Corps, the Mountain Community dell'Appennino Pistoiese and the universities of Florence, Pisa and Siena.

The garden is part of the Ecomuseo della Montagna Pistoiese, and its didactic centre at Fontana Vaccaia hosts public meetings on ecology and botany. The site is divided into an area forestale, a siliceous and a calcareous rock area, a wetland with a small pond, a blueberry ground and a mushroom trail.

The garden is open during warmer months and provides walking paths to observe mountain plants in their natural setting. It is helpful to wear comfortable shoes and prepare for elevation changes and uneven ground.

At the entrance, an original mixed forest predates the garden itself; inside, some red spruces stand as relict populations preserved in the nearby Campolino nature reserve. The garden also keeps a mushroom trail where, in the right season and weather, the fruiting bodies of various fungal species can be observed.