The Botanical Garden of Naples is one of the most important green spaces of the city with the Royal Wood of Capodimonte. Founded in 1807 by Giuseppe Bonaparte, it has always had educational and training functions for science students.
Botanical Garden in Napoli
The Botanical Garden is in Via Foria, next to the Royal Albergo dei Poveri, one of the largest constructions of ‘700 in Europe. The great garden can be visited for free – it is also possible to take part in guided tours organized by the staff during every month of the year. Botanical Garden access is free.
Walking on its 12 hectares of land, it is possible to know and observe about 9000 plant species and 25000 exemplars. There is a section dedicated to medical plants; sections dedicated to the experimentation curated by the University of Naples “Federico II” and greenhouses for reproduction and multiplication of rare species. Research is principally on the study of groups of plants such as Cycadales and orchids. The collections of the garden include rare specimens that are reproduced to reintroduce them in the environment if total disappearance occurs.
In the Botanical Garden of Napoli, it is possible to visit a building, named Castello (i.e. Castle), which is the Museum of Paleo-botanic and Ethnobotany. The first part is dedicated to plants, terracotta or metals and resins models. The Ethnobotany section is dedicated to the exposition of manufactured items made with plant material.
In addition to guided tours, the botanical garden of Naples hosts events such as art exhibitions, classic and jazz music concerts and events for children. Plus, sometimes there is also theatre performances suitable for all family members, vernissages and conferences.
Going to the botanical garden is very simple: it is very close to the central station of the city, in Piazza Garibaldi and it has access to differently-abled people.
Waiting for the experience of observing closely the wonders of the garden, you can take part in the virtual tour hosted by Google.
Routes to follow
Exhibition areas of the Botanical Garden of Naples follow three criteria. The systematic one proposes a route that proceeds for plant species; the ecological one is a route divided by similar territorial areas species – such as plant you can find on beaches, deserts, limestone areas, Mediterranean areas, etc.
In the same one, it is very easy to identify the tanks where hydrophyte plants are grown – plants that must live submerged or floating in the water, such as the Nymphaea Rubra. Another route is the ethnobotanical one, entirely dedicated to the experimental section of officinal plants.