Contact
STREET ADDRESS: Botanical Garden Street, 14 Lucca
PHONE: 0583 442482
WEBSITE: ortobotanicodilucca.it
The Botanical Garden is open to the public from March 21st to November 2nd each year.
Reservations are recommended on weekdays and required on weekends and holidays.
On May 23, 1820, Maria Luisa of Bourbon, Duchess of Lucca, signed the deed of delivery of a plot of land, the Piaggia Romana, to the Real Liceo (the city's university) to be used as a scientific garden. The first plants and shrubs were taken from the Villa Reale from Marlia and other public nurseries in the city, other seeds and plants arrived from nearby botanical gardens.
Throughout its 200-year history, the Botanical Garden has been one of the city's most significant centers of study and research. Today, it focuses on the conservation of endangered species and varieties, the study of local ethnobotanical traditions, and awareness and education. During the spring and summer months, its green and shady spaces become the stage for cultural events and musical concerts.
The southern part of the garden hosts the arboretum with centuries-old trees of monumental appearance, among which the patriarch of the garden, the ancient and majestic Cedar of Lebanon, son of the one in the Botanical Garden of Pisa, planted in 1822In the easternmost corner is the lovely little lake populated by water lilies, with the small island occupied by a bald cypress which in autumn turns an intense rust color. A silent and mysterious body of water, which has inspired folk tales and legends. The collection of camellias and rhododendrons, the elegant protagonists of the gardens and parks of the sumptuous villas of the Lucca area. The Montagnola, built with large rock blocks and traversed by a spiral path, welcomes the spontaneous flora of the nearby mountains (Monte Pisano, Apennines, Apuan Alps) and Mediterranean evergreen trees and shrubs.
In the northern section are the Botanical School, the collection of exotic and native medicinal plants, the "Cesare Bicchi" Museum with its precious herbaria, and one of the branches of the Regional Germplasm Bank, which preserves the seeds of local varieties of agricultural interest at risk of extinction. Finally, the ancient and modern greenhouses house plants from tropical and subtropical zones around the world. This area of the garden is dominated by a spectacular Ginkgo biloba: in autumn its large crown turns a golden yellow and the fan-shaped leaves fall to the ground creating a carpet of evocative beauty.