The Orto Botanico di Firenze (2.3 hectares), also known as the Giardino dei Semplici, the "Garden of simples", [1] is a botanical garden maintained by the University of Florence. It is located at Via Micheli, 3, Florence, Italy, and open weekday mornings.
The garden was established on December 1, 1545, by Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and is Europe's third oldest, behind the Orto Botanico di Pisa and the Orto Botanico di Padova. It was first laid out by landscape gardener Niccolò Pericoli to a botanical system and plantings chosen by Luca Ghini, and rose to prominence under Cosimo III, with Pier Antonio Micheli as its director. As was typical of early European botanical gardens, its prime interest was in medicinal plants. However, as in 1753 the Società Botanica was formed, the garden's focus turned to "experimental agriculture" and its layout was revised accordingly. The garden grounds opened to the public in the mid-19th century, at about the same time that its glass houses (1694 m2) were constructed.
Today the garden contains some 9,000 plant specimens laid out in a roughly square site surrounded by walls, crossed by a grid of walkways, and with a central fountain. Some trees are quite old, including a Taxus baccata (1720) and Quercus suber (1805). Other species include:
The Orto Botanico di Padova is a botanical garden in Padua, in the northeastern part of Italy. Founded in 1545 by the Venetian Republic, it is the world's oldest academic botanical garden that is still in its original location. The garden – operated by the University of Padua and owned by the Italian government – encompasses roughly 22,000 square meters (240,000 sq ft), and is known for its special collections and historical design.
The Orto botanico di Pisa, also known as the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Pisa, is a botanical garden operated by the University of Pisa, and located at via Luca Ghini 5, Pisa, Italy.
The Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze is a natural history museum in 6 major collections, located in Florence, Italy. It is part of the University of Florence. Museum collections are open mornings except Wednesday, and all day Saturday; an admission fee is charged.
Pier Antonio Micheli was a noted Italian botanist, professor of botany in Pisa, curator of the Orto Botanico di Firenze, author of Nova plantarum genera iuxta Tournefortii methodum disposita. He discovered the spores of mushrooms, was a leading authority on cryptogams, and coined several important genera of microfungi including Aspergillus and Botrytis.
The Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa, located in the city of Pisa in Tuscany, Italy, is a renowned institution dedicated to the study and display of natural history. The museum is home to one of the largest collections of cetacean skeletons in Europe, showcasing an impressive array of marine mammal specimens. In addition to its extensive cetacean holdings, the museum's oldest collections include seashells amassed by the Italian invertebrate scientist, Niccolò Gualtieri. Serving as both an educational and research institution, the museum invites visitors and scholars to explore the diversity and complexity of the natural world.
The Orto Botanico del Mediterraneo is a botanical garden located on the grounds of the Museo di storia naturale del Mediterraneo at Livorno, Tuscany, Italy. It contains groupings of plants typical to various locations along the Mediterranean Sea, with each group in a specific soil.
The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna, also known as the Orto Botanico di Bologna, is a botanical garden operated by the University of Bologna. It is located at Via Irnerio, 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy, and open daily except Mondays.
The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza", also known as the Orto Botanico di Roma, is a botanical garden operated by the Sapienza University of Rome and located at Largo Cristina di Svezia 24, Rome, Italy. It is open every day including Sundays; an admission fee is charged.
Michelangelo Tilli or Michele Angelo Tilli was an Italian physician and botanist, noted for his publication of Catalogus Plantarum Horti Pisani.
The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Pavia also known as the Orto Botanico di Pavia, is a botanical garden maintained by the University of Pavia. It is located at Via S. Epifanio, 14, Pavia, Italy, and is open to the public on weekends. The botanical garden covers an area of about two hectares and has approximately two thousand different species of plants, which are organised in sections. The current director is Francesco Sartori.The Botanical Garden stands in the place where the church of Saint Epiphanius was located, of which it preserves the cloister of the 15th century.
Giardino dell'Iris is a botanical garden specializing in the cultivation of iris flowers, symbol of Florence since 1251. It is located on the corner of Viale dei Colli and Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, Italy, and open daily without charge from May 2–20 every year.
The Orto Botanico delle Alpi Apuane "Pellegrini-Ansaldi", also known as the Orto Botanico di Pian della Fioba and, until 2016, Orto Botanico delle Alpi Apuane "Pietro Pellegrini", is a nature preserve and botanical garden located at 900 meters altitude in Pian della Fioba, Massa, Province of Massa-Carrara, Tuscany, Italy. It is operated by the town in collaboration with the Università della Toscana.
The Italian Renaissance garden was a new style of garden which emerged in the late 15th century at villas in Rome and Florence, inspired by classical ideals of order and beauty, and intended for the pleasure of the view of the garden and the landscape beyond, for contemplation, and for the enjoyment of the sights, sounds and smells of the garden itself.
Francesco Saverio Manetti also spelt Xaviero or Xaverio Manetti was an Italian physician, botanist and ornithologist. Among his works is the treatise on birds, Ornithologia methodice digesta or Storia naturale degli uccelli (1776). The plant genus Manettia was named in his honour by Carl Linnaeus.
Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti was an Italian botanist and naturalist.
The Accademia dei Georgofili is an educational institution in Florence, Italy. It was established in 1753. The academy has been a historic institution for over 250 years, and is best known for promoting, amongst scholars and landowners, the studying of agronomy, forestry, economy, geography and agriculture.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
The Reale Museo di Fisica e Storia Naturale was an Italian museum founded on 22 February 1775 in Florence that survived until 1878, when its collections were split up in various Florentine museums.